Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Self Actualization

I've been working on my New Horizons Workshop Class, The Exploratory Writing Workshop. Actually most of the quality work has been done by Katz, who is the Head Mistress of the Academy.

I'm dyslexic but otherwise fairly normal. Certain things that don't confuse the average person confuse me but the upside is that I have what I can only refer to as "A connectional Mind."

I have a wide variety of interests and in order to keep up with everything I have to spread my focus over a wide range. So instead of believing myself to be a "Dumbass" that many think I am, I'm comfortable under my skin and wouldn't trade my brain for anyone else's on the planet. This is not to say that I don't run into other smart people... it happens all the time, and when I do... what they're capable of amazes me.

This is my experience with Katz... watching what she does with my course to bring it up to Academy Standards fills me with a sense of awe. My E-Class is very complex while at the same time the complexity is not all that transparent. She sees the inner workings and understands it even better than I do and I'm the one who wrote it. Some of the changes she has made are such an improvement that my jaw drops open. I know if she reads this it will probably embarrass her but I'm not too worried because the number of people at WDC who read my blog is extremely low.

Most of the readers I have are unknown, and seem to find my blog using bots. Occasionally I will get several hundred hits in a single day when the average is about 12 and eleven of those are from somewhere off site. The reason I blog is not to get read but to try to focus my thinking.

The point is that everybody thinks a bit differently and comes equipped with a unique mind and distinctive way of looking at things. Regardless of how smart or dumb a person thinks they are there are others who can dove-tail into your thoughts and take them, for better or worse, far beyond what the originator ever considered. I know that many are troubled, as writers, when others have the "audacity" to rewrite their work, but when they do take the time, the result should not be viewed with indignation, but rather as the most precious form of critique. I leaves absolutely no doubt in the originators mind exactly what the rewriter is thinking. There is no mincing around with "...consider doing this or that."

Further, my experience is that often your friends will tell you what they think you want to hear while detractors, who don't give a "rats petotti" about your feelings will tell you exactly how they see it. This is a hugely valuable form of critique. In my profession I learned a whole lot more from my competitors than I ever did from my teammates. By understanding where an opposition comes from rather than dismissing the bitter taste, I came to see what at times was "mean spirited" as a huge advantage in reaching the optimal solution.

I guess what it all comes down to is one of the great lessons I've learned. To use a computer analogy, mankind is a distributed rather than a centralized data base. All wisdom is not reposed in a single mind but is spread over a sea of individual little awarenesses. Learning to network is the key to getting ahead and those who do it best rise to the highest levels of self actualization.