.. with nothing to prove

wondering how this mindset would change our days.

since perhaps.. most of the hours of our days – it seems – are spent trying to prove things… with perhaps some underlying/hidden agenda.. of trying to prove ourselves.. worthy.

the very essence of spaces of permission (at least in today’s world) is perhaps a mindset of having nothing to prove.

– – – –

from a little mind play of mine – while pondering Dave‘s thinking.. as he writes in rhizo on fb:

So I’m working on some rhizome stuff and i’d love a little sanity check. Cross two tension pairs, open to fixed curriculum and one to many people responsible for the curriculum.

here’s me thinking about it.. and his graph..

i apologize in advance – and ongoingly – for being a jerk. working toward shalom ness.

[i emphasized responsible for – and that got me thinking of papert’s quote – finding the curriculum w/in each person. which got me thinking on the power/sustainability of whimsy. which got me wondering how rhizomatic anything felt about being contained in a quadrant. ie: how i feel about being contained in a quadrant. which got me thinking about graphs. and taleb. and .. so i started wondering why the rhizome wasn’t part of both the 2nd and 3rd quadrants. (like the one end, is the curriculum w/in each person, networked individualism ness. where you’re both individual and community all at once.) then i wondered why it wasn’t the canvas itself.

(authentic) learning – whether it’s encapsulated in some fixed structure, ie: book, lecture, graph, word, … per choice, or some ungraphical/unmappable trek, ..per choice… is rhizomatic. all of it. nonlinear, non-predictable. (the parts that seem mapable/definable are just within the non-linearty. when you zoom out.. you see less clearly. so more clearly. ) so then i started imagining a grid where the backdrop/canvas is learning – modeled by the characteristics of a rhizome, and the 1st and 4th quadrants are just shrunk down quite a bit.. ie: not each taking up 1/4 the space. then i started seeing the inability to capture the size of the quadrant. unless it’s dead. ie: no longer alive/moving. so back to – why graph it.

and this. this is (one reason) why i don’t comment. words are so confining. as are graphs. esp because i think perhaps, we have this bent, obsession even, of using these more finite means to prove things. so – then we have to ask who/what are we trying to convince. and why. and has it helped in the past.

more here: with nothing to prove and evidence.

i guess – after adding those two previous pages.. my struggle is with the times we are in. it’s like good people.. good neighbors.. having a dinner/gathering/bonfire together. discussing/debating/conversing.. sharing ideas.. figuring things out. when one of their kids runs in and says – molly is drowning in the river. and we don’t hear it.. at least not that way.. or else .. of course we’d take action. and so.. to me.. right now.. it’s like there are too many friends.. telling us that molly is drowning. and we need to listen to that. first. ]

wondering how much of what we do is to provide evidence.. proof.. just so that we can convince others … or validate to others. not that either of those are bad.. but wondering how often we question why we’re convincing and/or validating to this particular audience.

like.. how much time are we spending proving/convincing.. to people who can’t/won’t help with the said proof .. even if they believed it.

i guess i’m seeing this cyclic quagmire/run-a-muck ness where we need to boldly say.. good bye cycle.. and as Rupert said.. end this love affair with evidence. like it’s our secret to happiness. to the top.

[perhaps this (debating et al) would be all fine and good in a true renaissance time, where equity was happening and it meant everyone, 7 billion people, were getting a go everyday. no one left out of that luxury. ie: in this case – the luxury to garner and provide evidence even. but since equity is not happening.. and i believe.. we now have the means to adjust/fix that.. it seems we should pause.. and start the game again.]

if it (proving/evidencing things) worked that’d be great. but if it worked.. we’d not be in messes right now. so it seems.. we keep believing things are provable.. and missing life.. while we’re waiting for the debate to end.. or the paper/book to be written.. or the person to be elected.. that would define/free it/us.

there’s too much of this.. going on today.. all over.. if we can hear it: