Week 6 HHMMM....maybe perception is they key

Well, I was in the doctor's office today waiting for my daughter to be finished with her appointment. The office had on HGTV and the show was about a closet and wardrobe makeover. Initially I sat there an watched it with skeptical eyes - a male designer was telling a woman how she should dress ...she recently lost 40 pounds and was still dressing in frumpy clothing. Like I said, initially I thought...hmmm...here he goes - HE is telling HER what to wear. Then I watched the show a little more intently...he wasn't telling her what she should wear, he was suggesting clothing that suited her body and age and actually was empowering her. When she perceived she looked good, she stood taller, smiled more and had more confidence. A transformation because of perception.

The next show (I was waiting a long time) was about how to stage you house for sale. Placing things more appropriately, using or not using color and decorations, etc. I watched that more intently because it was a woman designer helping women stage their homes for sale. What I saw in that show was that the women were doing the work - fixing, painting, rearranging, etc. There only was a man in the show when they needed to call in an electrician. Again, the women wanting to sell their homes became more aware of what needed to be done and that they, themselves, were capable of making those repairs and presenting their homes in a condition that people would want to buy. Again, perception changed their attitudes and that lead them to take charge of their future - and sell their homes.

Since that was this morning and I had a long drive down to work, I began to think about perception and how it can be used advantageously. I remembered the book I read called The Present (AMAZING BOOK!). It talks about living in the present, learning from the past and not making the same mistakes, and taking charge of your future. The shows I had been watching were doing just that - looking at what needed to be done right now, learning what went wrong in the past (overeating or neglect of repairs, etc.) and overcoming them (losing weight or fixing a windowsill), and creating their future (feeling empowered).

How wonderful would it be if we could look at differences (gender, cultural, etc.) and see the positives that are occurring right now, learn from the negatives of how we've let stereotypes and old fashioned ideas linger, and take positive steps (even small ones) towards creating a better future for all individuals - no strings attached. If each person in our class takes that attitude, and imparts that to 5 friends, who does the same thing, and so on....think of the change our 15 students can make in such a short amount of time!!!!! And all it takes is for each of us to make an effort to impart what we've learned already...it doesn't get much easier than this!

Thanks for an amazing class!
Dawn