Week 2 comments on Megan's blog post

Megan's post:
Week 2_Reading_Everyone deserves an A
I really enjoyed the chapter titled It’s All Invented. Really it is all invented and I have been trying to explain this to others for years, but it is a difficult thing to get people to understand and accept because we have always played by the rules. Thinking outside of the box we live in can be done daily. We must constantly ask ourselves what assumptions we are making. This will help us see that we are creating rules to think and live within even if we do not realize it. We make assumptions all the time. Here I will give you an example. I have a friend who does not have a car and lives next door to me. She often asks me for a ride. I usually assume that if I say no, then I must give a reason. If I have no reason she might no longer consider me a friend. I then make my decision on whether to give her a ride on these assumptions. Just the other day I decided to look at the situation without those assumptions and I just told her no I would not give her a ride and offered no explanation. She said ok and got off the phone to find another ride. She did not ask for a reason and she certainly did not stop being my friend. I was playing by the rules I had invented. What I had invented to change the situation was the rules that maybe she just needed a ride and that I was just another person with a choice in the matter and that the choice was not going to be the end-all of our friendship. Now putting this into writing I feel really silly by living under such assumptions.



We definitely live in a world full of measurements. I could easily relate to this chapter. I had a professor in college who told us “It isn’t about the grade. It is about what you learn and how you apply yourself. So these two things and you will have an A.” All semester I wanted to know my grade and he just kept reminding me that it was more about the learning experience. In the end I learned a lot and I got an A in the class, but because I am so used to living in such a measureable society it was a really painful semester because I didn’t know how I was measuring up as we went along.

Giving yourself an A. Well to be honest I have done that all my life and it is a great way to live. I love it. Yet I had not thought about giving others an A as well. I really liked what the author had to say here. I think that by giving others an A my relationships will have a positive growth and light on them.
Posted by Hippiemii at 4:24 PM

My Reply to Megan:
Megan,
What a great post. You really have captured the essence of what the authors were talking about. I am impressed by your application of rules in the example that you gave about your neighbor/friend. I admire the way that you thought about that and how you applied what you read. I hope that I can apply this the same way that you have when it comes to things happening in my life.