Well its sunday and i'm realizing its been a full week of not posting. sorry for keeping all of you in suspense :) Your Individualization theme leads you to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You are impatient with generalizations or “types” because you don’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You hear the one-of-a-kind stories in each person’s life. This theme explains why you pick your friends just the right birthday gift, why you know that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why you tailor your teaching style to accommodate one person’s need to be shown and another’s desire to “figure it out as I go.” Because you are such a keen observer of other people’s strengths, you can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps you build productive teams. While some search around for the perfect team “structure” or “process,” you know instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well. The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path—your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike. You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information—words, facts, books, and quotations—or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don’t feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It’s interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable. You can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person’s perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person’s predicament—this would be sympathy, not Empathy. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings—to themselves as well as to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons other people are drawn to you. You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the “muscles” of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions. This need for mental activity may be focused; for example, you may be trying to solve a problem or develop an idea or understand another person’s feelings. The exact focus will depend on your other strengths. On the other hand, this mental activity may very well lack focus. The theme of Intellection does not dictate what you are thinking about; it simply describes that you like to think. You are the kind of person who enjoys your time alone because it is your time for musing and reflection. You are introspective. In a sense you are your own best companion, as you pose yourself questions and try out answers on yourself to see how they sound. This introspection may lead you to a slight sense of discontent as you compare what you are actually doing with all the thoughts and ideas that your mind conceives. Or this introspection may tend toward more pragmatic matters such as the events of the day or a conversation that you plan to have later. Wherever it leads you, this mental hum is one of the constants of your life.
this week absolutely flew by. we had an assignment which i had a little (bit too much?) fun with. we were asked to make a poster-type thing answering some questions dealing with "the face of me". questions like
what people groups are you focused on?
which millennium goals speak to you?
what are you doing now?
what can you do after?
etc.
we were given leave to be creative so i did just that... and i really liked what i made. it may be a bit cluttered, etc. but it's most definitely "me". i don't have a picture of the finished product but i'll see what i can do.
other than that, we just stuck around burtigny this week, learning and relaxing. the days were pretty full as we had lectures in the mornings and breakout sessions in the afternoons where different people would talk about issues that they have a heart for and experience in.
i spent my breakout sessions with a group talking about honour killings. check into it if you have no idea what i mean by that.
i can't believe my time here is already half over. the prospect of travelling around again scares me. for those of you who don't know, i'm taking a train to amsterdam after this. its a bit of a trip. i always seem to insist on doing things the complicated way. i'm reminded of my trip out to vancouver and deciding to take the bus rather than a plane.
i know it'll be worth it... i believe that trips like this, longer and a bit harder, help you transistion... help you realize that you are going to a different place. not just an hour in a plane. and of course there are all the things along the way that you wouldn't see sitting in a plane....
but enough of that. i'm not sure how to sum up this week. my thoughts are everywhere and i think it will take time to sort it all out. i'm praying that i don't forget the weight of everything by the time i've got it all figured out in my brain.
oh and maybe i should share something about myself at this point. we did a little something called "strength finders" which means basically i took a bit of a personality test and they told me what i'm naturally inclined to. my strengths were: Individualization
Strategic
Input
Empathy
Intellection
SO if you didn't read all that....
the one that i find incredibly funny is "input". um, yeah, i collect. a lot of different random things. and i've never seen it as a strength. but there it is. they say that maturity is knowing when to use your strength. i guess i'm still growing in that area. i think overall it's pretty accurate. kinda interesting.
so onto a new week... please don't forget me in your prayers. i love all of you and miss you all very much ... although to be completely honest i don't think i'll ever want to leave switzerland. i've loved every moment. the people are so much fun (i lose my breath daily here from laughing so hard), the music is so good (did i mention i've found a few music buddies?), there is a girl here that absolutely LOVES giving backrubs (as in it brings her joy to have someone LET her give them a backrub... i didn't know these people existed), the food is amazing (i've been eating nutella every morning for breakfast :S, every lunch is enough for me to think if i died just then i would feel completely happy, I ATE FISH AND LOVED IT for the first time in my life, chocolate.), the scenery (we went sledding and it was so much fun, beautiful, and i saw a deer... a SWISS deer), and so much more. i could go on. maybe, if you're going to pray, pray that i have enough resolution to leave when i need to.
this is me playing in the snow:
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8 comments:
ha ha!! i must admit, i did laugh at the "input" one:)
love you crystal, glad you are having such a good time!
I love the pic of you in the snow! That's awesome!
Also....do you think you can bring backrub girl home with you and we can just pass her around amongst us? She'd be most welcome! LOL!
Hugs,
Marsha
you made a snow-crystal!!! you were making snow men too? xoxoxo
we did have a contest here (making snowmen) but i wasn't around to participate :( the results were pretty awesome and ... eclectic though!
Mmmm...nutella! That's a beautiful picture of you!
lovely, lovely photo, Crystal.
What a wonderful time of life you are in right now. Just breathe deep- take it all in. Pause and look around you and slow yourself down.
xo xo
(v word: pestee)
HEY PRINCESS!!!!! ITS ME MAR! love your snow playing picture!!!!very cute! glad you are having fun and hope you are keeping safe!
talk to you next week!!!
love ya!!!!
cheerio crystal...saw Britt yesterday and passed on your greeting. we'll try to call but it's hard to find a good time...love marge xoxo
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