Weeds of Ideas

Growing up I remember always questioning and exploring:  curiosity about how the world around me worked;  why friends' families did things differently; and if work systems could change.  Though I didn't need to, I took additional classes on ornamental horticulture, soil science, history, statistics, Greek... even though I was a computer science major!  Each semester the Dean had to approve my "course overload."  My interests and the academic choices seemed endless... but my time was limited and the university system wanted me to graduate!

Why?  There was so much to learn:  I wanted to grow... and I still do!

What filters what we see?
(Photo: Shaded Patio, Catalina Island,
Larry Gardepie)

As spring weather returns and new plant growth appears, it is time to weed and prepare the soil for our vegetable garden.  In the process of weeding, I recall a comment from one of my  horticulture professors:  "Weeds are plants that are misplaced."  He explained that weeds bring value to the environment.  We are the ones who have labeled them... and want to remove them.

I wonder about our Need to Weed.  Before the horticulture class, I was taught:

• Weeds draw water and nutrition from the plants we prefer.
• Weeds choke off the growth of other plants.
• Weeds are not the plants we have chosen to nurture.

 

Where does beauty exist?
(Photo:  California Poppy, Larry Gardepie)

Maybe these statements are true, but what is it about our desire to define, filter, and control what is considered a "weed" or "not a weed"?  People in California are faced with continued drought conditions, so some are returning to native drought-resistant plants -- those that are best suited for this environment.  It takes awhile to get used to the naturalness of these native plants - they don't always match what I learned earlier... some look like weeds!

Weeds and dialogue have a lot in common:  curiosity helps us to explore people's ideas, opinions, and conclusions; slowing down and listening heightens awareness of the filters to pull up or discard other ways of thinking or being; compassion and empathy surface as we relate to the person planted in our lives.

Where can we bloom where we are planted?
(Photo:  Conservatory and Lily Pond, Balboa Park,
San Diego, Larry Gardepie)

Learned filters determine what is choking growth or what is nurtured.  Noticing these filters provides choice on what is misplaced or not.  Choice allows us to consider Weeds of Ideas that we may have discarded without thinking.

Maybe as we consider the words we choose and the actions we take, we can learn to value diverse ideas and opinions.  Rather than controlling and removing what we don't like, we can sit with and marvel at the beauty of what is planted.

Be careful what you weed and toss aside this week!

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

 

Wisps of Ideas

Have you ever wondered where your thoughts come from?  Are there times when you are surprised by what bubbles up in your mind about someone else ("Now where did that come from?!")?

There are times when I cannot turn off my brain:  working through a project; worried about an upcoming deadline or decision; trying to solve a mystery ("Where did I put my phone?").

Sometimes, it seems as if my thoughts are clear, are connected, and have a purpose.  Other times they have a life of their own and wander, like wisps of smoke or clouds taking shape and then drifting around with the wayward winds.

What are you thinking right now?
(Photo: Wisps of Smoke at Night, Larry Gardepie)

In fact, did you know that rubber bands and thoughts/thinking have a lot in common?  Both can be stretched, and both contract!  Just think about the flexibility you might have on any given subject:

• Am I open to new ways of thinking about that subject?
• Am I closed off and convinced I have the answer and see it clearly?

As I am thinking about my own flexibility -- or lack of! -- I notice another thought emerging:  thoughts might be like wisps of smoke or clouds -- AND -- at the same time, they might be like the ocean depths:  there is so much more to consider!

Is it possible to hold both certainty and uncertainty
about a given subject... at the same time?
(Photo: Cloud Trails, Larry Gardepie)

I wonder about the structures and rules (SCRs: socially constructed realities) that I have accepted or established in my life.  Do they allow me to expand (or contract) in my way of thinking?  Do they provide the ability to follow the wayward winds and explore the depths of who I am -- or who you are?

 

I believe the beauty of thinking is sharing your thoughts with others.  Not to determine who is right or wrong, has the right answer or is still exploring.  Rather, by sharing our thoughts and listening to what another person thinks or feels, we expand our horizons.  We venture beyond the safe shores that protect one way of being (or thinking) and reach new areas of discovery.

Do the beauty of wisps and depths enlighten your day?
(Photo: Sea of Cortez sunset, Larry Gardepie)

Maybe in this divided world we are encouraged to set aside Thoughts Divisive that chain or lock us into violent struggles.  Maybe we are invited to Flexible Thinking that attracts sharing and nonviolent exchanges.  Maybe wayward wisps will allow to us See Anew the depth of discovery and the exploration of possibility.  Chains or Rubber Bands?

 

What do you think?
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

Penciling in Possibilities

No matter where we start in the year, we encounter beginnings and endings, endings and beginnings.  For instance, we are:

• Ending the school year and beginning the summer season;
• Moving from one phase of the pandemic and starting another; and
  
• Finishing one project or assignment and being introduced to another project and team.

It is this latter situation that is happening for me at work: having completed one product redesign and launching another multi-month project with a new set of coworkers.

I guess that is why I am thinking of pencils right now!

Do you enjoy new beginnings?

I remember as a child the magic of a new pencil: unsharpened and eraser unused.  The possibilities of that new pencil!  How long would it stay sharp?  Would the eraser last until the pencil was too short to use? What would be written or drawn with this pencil.... compared to the last one? And finally, letting go of that trusted companion and welcoming another new pencil into my life.

 

As I contemplate pencils and new assignments, I wonder if I face relationships and dialogue the same way?

• How will I sharpen my skills in order to create?
• When will I need to erase missteps and harsh words?
• Will the relationships last beyond this moment?

Beginnings and endings are interconnected: beginning the path toward discovery in order to be discovered.

When do you seek the Light-in-the-Darkness?

Projects -- and sometimes, people -- are like being in the dark.  We can't always see the outcome until we take that first step.  Moments of unseeing and unawareness require us to seek light and understanding.  It asks that we become curious, letting go, and moving forward.

The straight lines that we draw with that pencil -- and with our understanding of others -- sometimes need to bend, making shapes both simple and complex.

Can you envision the balance between
Simplicity and Complexity?

Beginning with a new team, starting a new relationship, and opening a dialogue require that we balance our individual needs with those of the Other.  I must end the myth that "I have all the answers" and "I am right."  We are asked to listen to possibilities, and begin to understand the unity common to each of us: we are human, trying our best to survive.

 

The light comes from walking together through the darkness of misunderstanding, and beginning to trust that each of us brings beauty and truth to our Created Future.

May we be willing to sharpen our dialogue skills by listening.  May we be willing to erase the judgments and conclusions we have made of others.  May we draw on the possibilities that will bring light to our darkened world.

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)