An "experience" is something that can be filed away in a notebook, or captured on film and pasted into an album. 'Experiencing' is the feeling of wonder itself, the thrill of communion, the gentle touch of our connectedness with all that surrounds us.
Have you ever seen night going? Very few people even become aware of things which are happening every day. Have you ever seen the evening coming? The midnight and its song? The sunrise and its beauty?
We are behaving almost like blind people. In such a beautiful world we are living in small ponds of our own misery. It is familiar, so even if somebody wants to pull you out, you struggle. You don't want to be pulled out of your misery, of your suffering. Otherwise there is so much joy all around; you have just to be aware of it and to become a participant, not a spectator.
That’s what usually happens when we fall into group think. Instead we should look an alternative. Participate in the night leaving, participate in the evening coming, participate in the stars and participate in the clouds; make participation your lifestyle and the whole existence becomes such a joy, such an ecstasy. You could not have dreamed of a better universe.
An environment; where all the individuals taking part in the circle make a unique contribution to create a unified and vital whole. It is like a flower, whose wholeness is even more beautiful than the sum of its parts, at the same time enhancing the beauty of each individual petal.
All of us have an opportunity to participate with others now to make your contribution to creating something greater and more beautiful than each of you could manage alone. Our participation will not only nourish our soul, but will also contribute something precious to the whole.
The reason why we are blinded by everything else outside the group dynamics is because groups are important to us. Furthermore, we are more of a collectivist society, meaning we have only a few groups to interact and communicate with.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are stuck in our misery, we tend to find groups that are also "emo-ing". Hence, even a helping hand comes along. We stay 'emo' , because the presence of mindguards would deflect the hand away. With respect to that, the group must often stay alert to avoid groupthink. If not a disaster might be in the works ...
Sometimes even though we want to break free and be different, we are afraid of what our groups will think. The last thing we want to do is to be seen as dissenters within the group. Even groups of rebels will not take kindly to the fact if one of them wanted to break ranks.
ReplyDeleteGroupthink creeps in very quietly, and we may know about it without knowing its presence among us. The next time someone in your group dares to be different, don't think that they are trying to be difficult; instead, encourage them.
"Validation" is a great video, thanks for sharing! The video portrays greatly the contrast of how things should be and how they really are.
ReplyDeleteIt's common to find people not reaching out to others or not being different as they are afraid to be termed "weird" by their peers.
Humans have a sense of belonging and sometimes it overpowers people and conditions them to behave in an "acceptable" way, which is how everyone in the group, family and society behaves.
To get things changing, it's important to be comfortable with what you do, and not be pressured to only do what others are comfortable with thinking or rationalizing.
That picture of Opportunity is a great illustration of risk.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is hard for us to break free and always choose the safe option especially in groups because we're so worried about breaking the harmony of the group.
I really like your outlook of life - so positive and individualistic, you realise the humans have so much potential to produce something bigger than they think they are. I sometimes forget that.
What group dynamics leverages on is each individual strengths and also weakness. The group strength is defined by its weakest link. Which is why the group needs to cooperate and help. By the fact that if each member contributes to his utmost, the group is able to move forward positively, or rather, grow stronger. Even if the group falls into the groupthink phenomenon, they can positively encourage each other to take risks. Afterall, the group is only labelled as groupthink when a decision leads to major mistake. But what if the group succeeds is it still a groupthink???
ReplyDeleteHello Shawn!
ReplyDeleteSupport group is certainly important but once we grow out of the period, we should also move on in life and not always fall back to the same group.
Then one won't be able to move out of the stage in life.
Hi Grace,
ReplyDeleteI agree sometime our heart and mind are working directly different. We may want something but it comes back to what we think are being practical.
Group think are positive if we want to move ahead. We must get everyone to be in sync. However, we also need a loud individual to push us along.
Hola Soo!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! Does other people comments matters so much that we don't follow what is right for ourselves? I'm glad you enjoyed the video!