December 6th, 2011
I recently took our girls, pictured above in their Halloween finest, to see the new Muppet movie. They enjoyed it and I was not miserable. It was a fine movie, nice, funny, and not too cheesy…and I very much enjoy doing things that the girls get excited about. When I posted something on Twitter about having gone to the movie, a friend asked if I was going to review the movie on my blog. While I had not planned on giving the movie any further thought, his question caused me to wonder if there was anything to learn from our afternoon trip to the movies.
Thinking about watching the film, there was one thing that stood out to me as just outright bizarre. Even though it was a happy, silly kids movie, there was a couple of times that I got a little choked up.
Absurd, I know.
But there is a bit of a lesson here I think. If you go back in time 20 years, you could not make me cry for anything. You could not pay me, force me or beg me to show emotion. I just didn’t do it. I was a rock. And today, I get choked up a The Muppets. Truth be told, there are commercials that make me a little weepy now. I blame my kids for this sappiness, but the point is that we change.
One of the reasons that human relations are so freaking complex is that we are a) each complex and unique beings, and b) each constantly evolving.
Not only are our social identities built out of a lot of different variables, but they are fluid and dynamic. We change. Life changes us. At one point I said that “I would never be caught dead driving a mini-van.” I said it loudly and proudly, and I was dead serious. I was young and hip and cool and single and without children…a mini-van made no sense to me. Today, I roll around Omaha in a big fat mini-van full of kids and kid stuff and I love our mini-van. I am not lying now and I was not lying way back when, but who I am has changed.
I have been at one time or another both a registered and active Republican and a registered and active Democrat. Today I am neither. Today neither of those options makes any sense to me…but at one time they each did. Not only do each of us see the world from a unique and particular perspective, but that perspective changes as we go through life. Not only are each of us different, we are all in the process of becoming something different from what we are right now.
I am a hot, sloppy mess.
So are you.
Be good to each other.
You never cease to inspire me. I like that you can be a mini van loving, Muppet crying, hot, sloppy mess. I am too. I’ve turned from being the person who was not nurturing (the whole “no one cries at work in MY office”)and almost unsympathetic when terminating employees to a hugging, nurturing, sappy HR mom. And I am proud I evolved.
Thanks for reminding us that it’s not always important who we were but who we are becoming and that hopefully, it is a consistently upgraded, better version of ourselves as we grow.
Thanks Trish, too kind. “Consistently upgraded” …i like that.
-joe
Hello Joe,
I’m gathering stories for an eBook series tentatively titled Different Work. You appear to be walking the walk, not just talking the talk, of different work, and I’m wondering if you’d be interested in sharing your story for the book.
We define different work as 1) a group (usually), that 2) deeply loves their work (most days), and who 3) are working differently than they what they used to think work “should be” and 4) are significantly changing what work looks and feels like for themselves and their families, communities, and/or organizations.
I usually don’t reach out to individuals for this project unless I or someone in my community knows them and their work well. I’ve apparently decided to make an exception for people who get choked up by the new muppets movie.
Links to more about us below. Holler if you’re interested. We’d be happy to share your story with our communities however you’d like it told.
Lori
Lori Kane, Ed.D.
Community & Self-Organizing Groups Researcher
http://www.collectiveself.com
lori@collectiveself.com
working with:
Bas de Baar
The Project Shrink
http://www.projectshrink.com/
BasDeBaar@gmail.com