Today in Company we were still working through the Authentic Self Projects. The goal was for the student to find some means of sharing “who they are when they are alone” with the group. Everyone has tried the verbal, the clever, the logical and the informative – – all good – but all a bit safe and calculated.
One girl got it different. She undid her shoes and then simply walked around from person to person – – just spending quite time demanding engagement from each one. It was simple, non-verbal and most intrusive. The nineteen members of the class had become nineteen different mirrors – – simple but very effective. Her work certainly validated the axiom that words lie but behavior never does. Smartly, by turning the attention to the other, she was becoming defined.
I know that this exercise is working when it ends with me knowing more about the student then I did when they begun. Again and again, I am trying to get away from what they are doing to who they are. This girl stayed quiet and looked in the mirror – many mirrors actually and the result was that we got to see her.