I'd like to share Seth Godin's blog entry for today It resonates with some of what I'm reading in Anna Deavere Smith's book, and I believe the concepts he surfaces are relevant to our telling. The entry is repeated below, but I've also given you a link, in case you decide to look at his earlier entries - or subscribe!
Opposition
The opposite of creativity is fear.
And fear's enemy is creativity.
The opposite of yes is maybe.
Because maybe is non-definitive, and both yes and no give us closure and the chance to move ahead.
Perfect is the enemy of good.
Us is not the enemy of them. Us is the opposite of alone.
They can become us as soon as we permit it.
Everything is the opposite of okay. Everything can never be okay. Except when we permit it.
The right is not the opposite of the left. Each side has the chance to go up, which is precisely the opposite of down.
Dreams are not the opposite of reality. Dreams inform reality.
Thank you for sharing this Bill. Perhaps whatever holds one back, or slows the personal evolution into that highest potential within, hinges on "permitting it."
ReplyDeleteTHE OPPOSITE OF YES IS MAYBE! This just split me open. I have worked hard to learn to say 'no,' but I still have no idea how to not say 'maybe'...
ReplyDeleteactually, there is another option---not actually a word, but a sound
ReplyDeleteWhen I don't want to say, " yes or no"----I say "mmmmmmm"
Joy