patterns of experience open to revision
Goals
To critically assess …
- Whether security is an experience or an expectation
- Whether we like or merely like using those of use to us
- To what extent education entails understanding
- To what extent a reward creates a role to step into
- Why we revise expectations that don’t match experience
- How revising expectations can be transformative
Bad Dog
The dog is a dæmon, my people are sure.
Were it not for the boy, the pup disappears.
This awful mongrel, this adorable pup.
Off him to a lighthouse, have him boxed up.
Perhaps I exaggerate, despite admiration.
I am the cat with a canine situation.
The little guy’s sweet. Did I say that already?
But not consulted, the pup’s not … necessary.
The carpet is ripped. The bolsters, exploded.
The vase is dripping, knocked over, and broken.
Obedient one minute, then horrors unknown.
Someone brought some long-dead back home.
Put him in a crate, he pulls puppy eyes.
Looking so lonely, it whimpers and cries.
Fenced in the yard, if nobody’s looking,
a hole in the garden, so off to the kitchen.
The curtains, shredded. Dog has some jump.
Puddle of piddle, who’s cleaning that up?
Into the boy’s lap, tomorrow it’s training.
Does as he’s told. No resistance or complaining.
Bad boy for a weekend visits big sister’s house.
She finds him gentle, or words thereabouts.
How clever this cur, how we’ve grown closer.
Now I must behave until the weekend is over.
What do you Think?
- Does being slighted for not being consulted suggest the cat doesn’t feeling secure in the family?
- Do we like — or simply like using — those who are our foil?
Wizard of Awes
The Scarecrow is a man made of straw
in a story with the Wizard of Awes.
Scarecrow wants to gain
some measure of brain.
He wants to be smart “just because.”
Ol’ Wizard has power he wields
in smoke and mirrors concealed.
Looking like magic,
in fact it’s the logic
of making hidden talents reveal.
Courage to the Cowardly Lion
is awarded in the form of medallion.
The Lion feels brave,
his pride has been saved.
At least now he’s one to rely on.
Learning goes to the Scarecrow
with a diploma that says he knows
all manner of facts,
forward and back.
But asked if he’s smart shrugs “dunno.”
What do you Think?
- Did the Wizard give Scarecrow what Scarecrow wanted? Does it matter to the Lion whether the Wizard is a fraud?
- Why do we like stickers, certificates, and trophies?
Modus Tollens Therapy
Seven stars in the Big Dipper.
Rover must have chewed my slipper.
The door was locked before I left.
Best keep silent if under arrest.
These are claims I consider true.
Basic beliefs in my world view.
Convictions held with confidence
that they’ll match my experience.
Healthy and happy straight across,
I don’t foresee any serious loss.
In work and love and life no fear,
for all, I trust, will persevere.
Such beliefs are inspiration,
antecedent to expectations.
I’m confident that they express,
what I, in turn, shall experience.
Except when some expectation,
does not receive confirmation.
There results a discrepancy
with the antecedent’s accuracy.
The old view must accommodate
to new found facts that dominate.
So what was taken as the norm,
revises as outlooks transform.