Replying to LO23750 --
Dear Terry and Organlearners,
You wrote:
> As you reflected on "caring", another definition comes to mind which, for
> me, radically changes the possibility of achieving a requisite "caring"
> in
> order to sustain a learning organization.
>
> Right or wrong, I interpret caring as being the attention I can give
> another person to share their "space" for a bit of time. It could be as
> simple as listening to what they say or respectful of their body
> language.
> It could mean to put my own thoughts and actions on hold long enough to
> be
> open to other points of view. I could mean to take the time to say what I
> want to say in a way that makes it more easily understandable to someone
> else. It could also be to take appropriate action (or non-action),
> depending on the circumstances.
>
> I also have some hope that the persons with whom I'm interacting will
> grow
> to give me the same courtesy, respect, or attention. Possibly caring is
> to
> give the person a chance (an extended chance?) to meet my expectations
> before I turn elsewhere.
I couldn't understand if by «another definition» you meant you disagreed
with the definition I stated or that you had gained from what I wrote. In
fact, all you say seems to support the definition of caring which I
stated, meaning, one that has «giving» as its central fulcrum. You say
«give another person attention», and people «giving me courtesy, respect
and attention». I'm not sure if we're tuned on this, because if you're
disagreeing with me I can't see where. If on the other hand you're
agreeing with me, then I'm touched. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
But again, I think I should re-affirm that I do not believe that we can
effectively care in a systematic manner towards others and things if we
are not able to feel. This, for me, is the major problem in the system.
You see, I believe that if you want to have a calm, kind state of mind,
you have to have a calm, kind spirit. Actions and states of mind are like
fragile flowers. They need solid ground to grow. Solid ground means a
balanced spirit. One where feeling and reason can flourish. The thing is,
we have learned very well to ignore feeling and overestimate reason. We
were taught to feel the least as possible. If we re-learn how to feel (I
don't know if this is possible, but it's a wish I make), caring will
flourish without effort and will not be as elusive as Terry has described.
Let me ask you this: some butterflies live only one day. How can they be
happy?
(And yet, we humans can't fly. Can we?)
Abraços,
Bruno
--"Bruno Martins Soares" <bmartins.soares@mail.EUnet.pt>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
"Learning-org" and the format of our message identifiers (LO1234, etc.) are trademarks of Richard Karash.