farmerI read this wonderful parable in Adam Jackson’s latest book, “The Flipside” (an awesome book, by the way – look out for it in the Bottom-line Bookclub later this year. And yes, it’s still on the boil, with more secret stuff I can’t talk about yet… will keep you posted!)
The Taoist Farmer
“The Taoist farmer lived in a remote village in the furthermost corner of China. He was not a wealthy man, but he was content with his life, and farmed a small
Do you know that we’re the only species that shows positive emotions by bearing our teeth?
Well, as far as we know, at least… I suspect this is not an easy thing to research. I’m picturing the Gary Larson social anthropologists and biologists getting themselves into dangerous situations with a lot of very weird creatures, all in the name of finding out whether they’re expressing happiness, warmth and kindness when they’re bearing their teeth!
Anyway, I don’t really agree with this claim
One of the first “therapeutic skills” I was taught as a Social Worker was called “normalization.” Basically, this so-called “skill” involved saying to someone who’s just told you about some of the difficult emotions and reactions that they struggle with, “It’s really normal to feel/ respond that way” (or some variation on that theme). Boy did me and my classmates have a hoot, “normalizing” everything each other said over the next few weeks… and coming up with statements that definitely aren’t normal, just because we knew someone would “normalize” us (“Gee, ever since I wrote that psych stats exam, I’ve had a strange desire to shag our lecturer…”).
You’re so diligent, responsible and mature – reading blogs like this, and thinking about how to progress your life and how to unleash your potential and all. You take life kinda seriously, don’t you?
Yeah, I know… me too.
And sometimes that’s the reason you and I get stuck. We stopped playing. Remember playing…?
So this week, leading your life is all about remembering what you loved doing as a child.
One of the serious benefits of doing the work I do is that I get to witness people’s stories. I get to see and hear their process of visioning, struggling, reviewing, refining, questioning, doubting themselves, dealing with their fears, and making sense of it all along the way. Which means I learn loads through them. So I guess you could say that I’ve gained a lot of life experience vicariously, through my clients. And I’m super-grateful for the ways that has enriched my life, not just my coaching practice.
So I got to thinking the other day, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I could share these experiences with other people – so they could also learn vicariously?!” And so I’m going to be peppering this blog with true stories of everyday heroes and heroines who are dealing with their own resistance, showing up, expressing themselves and making their contribution, in spite of their fears. If you know people you think should be featured, drop me an email – I’d love to hear their story.
Cath is loving, healing and serving herself and others by walking, making art, raising funds for the Kidney Foundation, supporting people who are grieving to live wholeheartedly after loss, training grief coaches, tending to her small urban garden, writing, blogging occasionally here at AgileLiving.net and having real and compassionate conversations with new and old friends. Cath is an experienced Social Worker, Neuro-linguistic Psychology Master Practitioner and Martha Beck Life Coach.
