As I was browsing through old entries in my private blog, i came across this:
"I find it hard to talk about myself. I'm always tripped up by the eternal who-am-i paradox. Sure, no one knows as much pure data about me as me. But when i talk about myself, all sorts of other factors, values, standards, my own limitations as an observer, make me, the narator select and eliminate things about me, the naratee. I've always been disturbed by the fact i'm not painting a very objective picture of myself...The more i think about it, the more i want to take a rain check on the topic of me. What i'd like to know more is about the objective reality of things outside myself. How important the world outside is to me, how i maintain a sense of equilibrium by coming to terms with it. Thats how i grasp a clearer sense of who i am." Haruki Murakami - Sputnik Sweetheart
I'm a huge Murakami fan, so i thought i'd share this excerpt. The passage struck me as very apt after all the ES2007s lessons i've attended to date.
Sometimes, I really wonder, just how honest we are with ourselves.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Interpersonal Conflict
My experience with interpersonal conflict was recent and involved a fair amount of tension. What started off as a peaceful evening training session, erupted into a verbal arms race in which the most vulgar would seemingly prevail.
The spectacle took place during the recent term break at the campus swimming pool. The varsity Aquathlon team had gathered at the Sports and Recreation Centre for our weekly evening swim training. As a team, we’d usually politely instruct individuals to vacate the lanes we have booked. However, on that particular day, I was met with the most unreasonable person to my memory.
I explained to him that his lane was booked for the Aquathlon team’s training and politely asked that he shift over to the adjacent lane (which was open to the public). His reply was curt, "Tough sh*t, I’m not done yet." Upon which, he continued to hog the lane.
Not one to shy away from confrontation, I again tried to reason with him, albeit with much less effort to remain cordial. What ensued was a heated debate over lane bookings and time constraints.
As it wore on, the argument got laced with curses and swears. So here we were, two grown men, shouting at each other as profanely as we could, on the verge of a fist fight until the life guards tore us apart. We now had the attention of the whole swimming pool and were asked to step aside to resolve this more calmly. Eventually, with the backing of the sports office, I won my case against him but was given a strict warning on conduct.
Words are loaded pistols; you fire them off at your own risk. How would you have reacted and dealt with such an individual under the same circumstances?
The spectacle took place during the recent term break at the campus swimming pool. The varsity Aquathlon team had gathered at the Sports and Recreation Centre for our weekly evening swim training. As a team, we’d usually politely instruct individuals to vacate the lanes we have booked. However, on that particular day, I was met with the most unreasonable person to my memory.
I explained to him that his lane was booked for the Aquathlon team’s training and politely asked that he shift over to the adjacent lane (which was open to the public). His reply was curt, "Tough sh*t, I’m not done yet." Upon which, he continued to hog the lane.
Not one to shy away from confrontation, I again tried to reason with him, albeit with much less effort to remain cordial. What ensued was a heated debate over lane bookings and time constraints.
As it wore on, the argument got laced with curses and swears. So here we were, two grown men, shouting at each other as profanely as we could, on the verge of a fist fight until the life guards tore us apart. We now had the attention of the whole swimming pool and were asked to step aside to resolve this more calmly. Eventually, with the backing of the sports office, I won my case against him but was given a strict warning on conduct.
Words are loaded pistols; you fire them off at your own risk. How would you have reacted and dealt with such an individual under the same circumstances?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
