A Follow Up to Yesterday's Getting to Know You Exercise

Yesterday's getting to know you exercise went really well! If you could hear me say that, you might say, "Why do you sound so surprised?"

I thought the exercise would go well, but in the end, it's always hard to know. Some people have playful natures. Some people arrive with open hearts. Some people get the metaphor. Luckily, these statements describe the yesterday's group.

I didn't pick up any resentment from people about having to sacrifice their Saturday mornings. No one there was a literalist. No one said, "What do you mean, how am I like a hammer? Humans are humans and things are things." There was a bit of tiredness, but no grumpiness.

And we found out some interesting things about each other. If we had simply introduced ourselves, people likely would have stuck to the basics. But by having to think about how we're like potting soil or thread or vise grips--that takes us to a different level.

Will I retain that information about my Council-mates? I don't know. Did I learn things I didn't already know? I'm not sure. As each person spoke, I felt a flash of recognition: oh yeah, of course that's how he's like bread dough; oh right, of course she's like a needle.

I like that the exercise gave us a focus as we spent a few minutes in silence considering our deeper selves and the tools and mediums before us. I like that we had a few minutes to speak, but the exercise focused our minds.

Every year, I go to the Create in Me retreat at Lutheridge (go here for information; there's still time to decide you'll join us there, still spaces open). Every year, it seems like more of an effort to get myself there, and I slip into wondering whether or not it's worth it. But I learn so much that I can use in all sorts of different areas. And more than that, I get a retreat. I see humans in first world countries leading more and more harried, frazzled lives. It's important to get away.