Discoveries In Personal Space

"In order to see birds,

it is necessary to become

part of the silence."

Robert Lynd

My education by itself was not enough to experience a successful career.  I needed to hone my skills in the presence of the families I served.  My mind was filled with sociological studies and psychological techniques, but as an in home comprehensive counselor, I quickly learned to begin within the family home.  To simply read a social history or a Children and Family Service in take inventory, I would not fully grasp the overall climate of the family nor the opinion of each family member. To open the door to family conflict, I decided to simply be a witness.  Instead of entering a home as the know it all court ordered counselor, I would sit the in the family's midst and quietly state, "Could you please tell me how you got involved with the system by starting at the very beginning?"  Only in this way could I begin to understand their version.  This would give me the baseline of where I needed to start with them in order to  help, rather than being on the outside telling them what they needed to do.  We became a team, not always successful, but graduating in small increments.

Anything we want to deeply connect with, whether it is in the field of art, music, language, travel or writing, we can complete classes, workshops, or trainings, but to truly connect one must begin with their own individual imprint.  This means we must know our material, but we must also have hands on experience.

As Robert Lynd states, "In order to see the birds, it is necessary to become part of the silence."  We can study nature or  join the Audubon Society, but still not truly 'see' the birds.  We need to blend into the entire experience.   We must join them in their abode and silently become a part of their surrounding. In their personal space is where we will truly experience their reality.

I find this to be true of most any learning situation.