Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Insanely... Janus...

Human nature fascinates me, my own included :P

I wonder why I say and do the things I do even when I know sometimes, for sure, deep inside of me that I'm not being true to myself (avoid the word hypocrite... as you notice!) and when it is retrospection time I want to kick myself, in the nether regions most often.

In Roman mythology, Janus is the God of beginnings and endings; birth and death. Closer to home, Hindus observe 'Sutaka' a period signifying Impurity arising (to the members of a family) through a birth in it, but understood popularly in the sense of Impurity arising through a death, similar to beginnings and endings.

So Janus, also called the two faced God since he looks to the future and to the past is rather unfortunately remembered when I digress from being honest, a state I'm struggling to minimize. This trait probably stems from my first birthday. My photograph has two of me in a single frame, albeit looking at each other!

As I do some soul searching, it's easy to see that most times fear hems me in and sometimes my ego does and other times it's a mindless habit. A very thin line this, between diplomacy and authenticity, between doing what's right and doing what's accepted, between following the herd and being yourself.

To be accepted and loved and cherished and praised is, and will be a hunger unappeased in all of us. How far would you go to ensure you had this adulation is the question. When will you decide that someone's, anyone's, everyone's opinion doesn't really matter, what you feel strongly inside of you is the real McCoy...

It's perfectly alright to have your own thoughts and act accordingly, being part of an ethinicity, religion, nationality, family even doesn't necessarily bind you to someone else's idea of the real thing, if you have one and a real strong won't-let-you-go-no-matter-what one, Go for it.

In this quest to be absolutely true to myself, above all I know I have to struggle against convention, be brave enough to accept labels and kind enough to know that people don't really mean what they say, they're afraid of losing face/ faith or petrified of a new order and this manifests in their unkindness.

And so I try zealously to undo my Janus... ness!


Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Preach no more...

Am part of a training on managerial skills and one session was a live simulation of coaching and delegation.
The planners were given a puzzle and they had to give instructions to the team of implementers who would solve it and I was part of the observers team.
When it was time to give feedback, I was brutally honest and unerringly blunt and to me it seemed that I was being candid and they were propitious in having a discerning observer in me.
To my supreme mortification and disgust, not only was what I said ingratiating but also offensive to a few.
For someone who continuously posts in my blog about the power of words, you would think that I'd keep them soft and tender 'cos I know well I will have to swallow 'em at some point.
Well I can't claim temporary amnesia or insanity for that matter. As I reflected on what I said and how, I hung my head in shame and wondered how I could forget what I so vehemently advocate.
As I reflect on the choice of words I used, I understand that no matter how genuine my intentions, the truth is that the message has to be worded gently.
The worry is, I know all of this... 
Yet I slip, stumble, fumble, fall and fail.
Like we exercise for our bodies to remain fit, I guess I need to practice using language that avoids confrontation, condescension and corrugation. 
And when I slip... don't get mad and walk away, Stay and tell me to buzz off!