Have you noticed that when we get away from our normal surroundings or out of our comfort zone:
- We pay attention a little more.
- We notice things that are not familiar.
- We don't necessarily know what to say or do.
It is as if our autopilot is turned off, and we are required to Respond rather than React.
This is one reason why I enjoy traveling outside my neighborhood and city -- I am challenged to think and feel!
![]() |
What do you imitate? (Photo: Entrance to Pub-Gallery, Belfast, Ireland - Larry Gardepie) |
An Irish Pub -- of all places! -- helped me to come to terms with expressions of familiarity and differences. This particular pub had an outdoor art gallery filled with provocative paintings: that is, the art pieces provoked feelings of closeness and intimacy to what I knew and understood... AND... they invited a new way of seeing or understanding the world.
For instance, as we entered the outdoor patio, the four corners displayed the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Conquest or Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death). Looking closer at the people on the horses were figures of Kim Jong Un (representing Pestilence), Ali Khamenei (War), Donald Trump (Famine), and Vladimir Putin (Death).
![]() |
What are you hungry for? (Photo: Great Famine Stained Glass Window, Belfast City Hall - Larry Gardepie) |
Whether I agreed with or believed in the artist's message didn't matter: the art was an expression of another person's views that provoked me to think.
The Belfast City Hall was another location filled with artwork and stained-glass windows. One window in particular provided color to the Great Famines of the mid-1800s - part of the Irish history that lives on in their stories and ballads.
It was a reminder that our stories and histories intertwine as we live daily what is familiar... AND... move through Life's travels and broader realities.
![]() |
How do you add color to this world? (Photo: Stained Glass Windows, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland - Larry Gardepie) |
The openness to experience and understand another perspective may be part of Life's Goal: recognizing that our limited time and place can only be expanded by listening, dreaming, and accepting Other.
![]() |
Larry Gardepie
Dialogue San Diego Consulting
|