There is a lot in this short passage of reading that I found very personal connections to. The first that jumped out at me was the passage on 163, "if we 'unlearn' crossing our arms and legs, we both feel and are perceived as more open and approachable." This idea is one that I have heard echo throughout my life. It was only this last summer with my co-ed kickball team that it really stuck. I don't know why this particular moment stays in my mind, but it happened at lunch with my teammates after a game one Sunday. We were sitting at our table, our meals done, just hanging out, and my arms were crossed as they often are. One my teammates, DeWayne, pointed at me, looked at me sister, and said, "Will you please explain to her." Everyone laughed, as it was a joke within their group, but my sister and DeWayne quickly explained to me that as soon as a woman crosses her arms or puts her hands on her hips she becomes unapproachable.
Now, whenever I find myself with my arms crossed or my hands on my hips I consciously work to put them somewhere else. In a way, I'm trying to reconstruct the mental pathway (spindle cells) that lead me to cross my arms.
Long ago, in fifth grade as my classmates and I were sitting to take CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment, or something like that), my teacher told us that if our brains were tired or we weren't thinking clearly, we should cross our legs or arms because it would activate and reawaken our minds. As I read about the EMF displayed in our minds and hearts and how crossing the arms blocks the heart's EMF, it all made more sense. Perhaps, if your mind is wandering or unfocused, it is because you're uncrossed - your heart is leading more than your mind. Unfortunately, in a standardized testing arena, the mind must generally be leading, s crossing your arms allows your mind to take control again. This could potentially be used in a very strong argument against standardized testing, but that is for another time.
The second passage that struck me starts with a quote on 167 from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, "A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral." This brought me immediately to the lesson in my PLP: everyone has the ability and power to create something. In tandem, everything has the ability and possibility to be made into something. In Deedee's words, "We only find what we are looking for." We can create, if we believe we can create.
The last passage that I want to highlight is one that has been imprinted in my heart ever since I could understand my grandpa. "What would happen if in every conversation we believed that we were speaking with the teacher who holds all the answers in every conflict?" (168). And this brought me immediately to Myron Rolle's comment, "Always talk to the janitors and the lunch ladies." This is a lesson in leadership that many Americans - many people in general - seem to be lacking: occupation does not denote wisdom. It goes along the same lines as what I say in my PLP, "I will be a teacher in the same way I will be a leader; I don't need the title." It's something I spoke of at the Leadership Summit just this week; every person in every part of every team is a leader whether they realize or even whether they want it. Every person has a wisdom to share. And every person should be willing and trying to hear that.
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