I’m an introvert with an extrovert’s job.

I’m an introvert with an extrovert’s personality.

Most people who see me work, especially when I’m teaching, would have no idea I am an introvert. 1
– I’m loud
– I’m funny
– I’m dramatic
– I’m engaging
– I usually teach dialogically
– I pursue relationships with others

And, I’m an introvert.

Julian Treasure guided the audience at a recent TED.com conference in the art of listening.  I loved it; here are my excerpts.  The video is here.

“…we’re losing our listening. Why did I say that? Well there are a lot of reasons for this.

First of all, we invented ways of recording — first writing, then audio recording and now video recording as well. The premium on accurate and careful listening has simply disappeared.

Secondly, the world is now so noisy…it’s just hard to listen; it’s tiring to listen. Many people take refuge in headphones, but … in this scenario, nobody’s listening to anybody.

Shame Lays In The Shadows  

Shame waits.  Watching.  Looking for an opportunity; to pounce!

Shame, researcher Brene Brown explains, “is really easily understood as the fear of disconnection.”  That “there [is] something about me that, if other people know it or see it, that I won’t be worthy of connection.”

Shame tells us we will, and should, be rejected by others.

Brown goes on to explain that the “only people who don’t experience shame have no capacity for human empathy or connection…we all know that feeling: ‘I’m not blank enough. I’m not thin enough, rich enough, beautiful enough, smart enough, promoted enough.’ ” 1

When I was in elementary school peace was the word of the day.

We wore circular peace signs on t-shirts and on jewelry.

We raised a fist, opened it up and raised two fingers into a peace sign.

Peace Myth

I could think back to “the good old days” of the peaceful sixties, but they were also days when I feared violence in my neighborhood, poison in our Halloween candy, a war in Vietnam with body counts on the news, bloody riots in the Chicago streets, and a man who tried to kidnap my best friend and I walking home from church one Tuesday night.