The Note: Year 5 Number 3

1 May 2023, sent from Montgomery, AL

"The Note" = sharin' what I'm thinkin' feelin’

Y.5 N.3 – The Stories We Share

Dear ,

First off, an ask: Please share a bit of advice, a memory, or a wish, with a one-to-two-minute video: https://share.vidday.com/e/o-cwvf1n I’m going to put everything I receive into a movie and watch it on Day One of my New Job!

(It’s super easy… click that link, click Submit Now, choose Take Video, Choose video and change to front-facing camera, then click the red button!)

Second, if you’re in/around Montgomery on Star Wars Day, please drop by the Hilltop Public House around 1630 for my farewell. It’s way informal/low-key, and a way to say “hi” and “thanks” to people I have gotten to work for and with over the past 1,218 days!

Third, I am watching the stories I share. On Monday, the 8^th of May, I will start my new job. As I have told my family, friends, and co-workers: I’m not done with this Department just yet. I know that the stories that have gotten me 'here' won't be the ones that take me 'there.'

It is time to move to a new organization and build new stories. Being present for AND reflecting on moments is even more important as I head into this next opportunity. (I’ll write more about my new position soon…)

There are three views I’m looking to clarify…if I could write “To windex” as a verb, that’s what I would say:

“There are three views to windex.”

For now, “clarify” it is.

As I’ll be working more than ever at my desk, behind my computer, and in front of a camera, I’ve already started to set myself up to clear up all three views.

First, the mirror

Or, in my case, as I write this, the Zoom screen.

For the foreseeable future, I will work more “on camera.” While I don’t “record” many of my classes/meetings, I am aware; I can see that green dot on the top of my laptop. I look at myself on screen. I notice… and when I stop to check me out, it’s hard not to smile; I can’t take myself THAT seriously the older I get!

I call it “radical self-awareness.”

And, I’m going beyond just looking at the lines connecting my eyes to my temples, that spot on the tip of my nose, or the (oh so many) gray hairs atop my noggin’.

I’m talkin’ about everything I’m doing to “see” the real me. This is more than just “knowing myself;” and much more than just diary-keeping. I mean real, true, honest, deep, meaningful, and insightful reflection.

The question I ask: When I see me, what do I see?

The second view

Sitting at my desk, upstairs at home, I look out my window and see five (5) homes’ roofs (including ours). If I stand up and put my nose to the windowpane and move my eyes left to right, that number jumps to nine (9). If I get up from the desk, walk downstairs, put my shoes on, and walk the one mile around the block, I can see… ok, so I’ve never counted but I’ll guestimate 50 homes along that 1-mile walk…

The question I ask: When I see them, what do I see?

And third

I go back to that green dot. But, this time I don’t look directly at me, I look just around me. I push the computer as far back as I can, and angle the camera to see as much of my workspace as possible. I look at the screen, seeing what the camera sees when it is turned on.

The question I ask: Then THEY see ME, what do they see?

Those Three Views – CAO 1 May 2023

MIRROR: I see a man with more experience than he had 1,218 days ago. A few more grey hairs and a smile as fast to form as ever; with an acceptance that he needs to force it to get started occasionally. Under the surface, I see the personality “characteristics/tendencies/traits” expressed in ways that match moments AND contradict them. I like the people I like; I am cautious around those I know and quick to call someone a friend…until.

Until I can't.

WINDOW #1: I see a map; it’s a blend of a digital/topographic/street-names map. I look out and see possibility, potential, and power. The people I work around, they can make (or break) other people’s days with a string of words; or even an eye-roll. Lately, I’ve been paying especial attention to the messages between breaths.

It’s a fascinating exercise. I’ll ask someone a big, powerful, deep, non-ordinary question – and then sit back to listen.

They will start talking, and then at some point, I will do something to get them to stop. I’ll sneeze, or cough, or simply say, “ho-hol-hold-holdon…”

Then, I will say, “I missed that last part; can you repeat it?”

Mind you, I’ve been paying attention to every effing word, and this is where it gets interesting… they RARELY repeat what they originally said.

For me, this is gold… what I mean is, I know now that I need to watch VERY carefully so that I see as much as possible.

I’ll write more about that later…

WINDOW #2: What do they see... when they look back at me? This is a big one, and I’m wrestling with the question more and more. It requires that I go back to that first view (the Mirror) and ask, “Does the 'me' I see look match the 'me' they see?”

I wonder, if I asked, what would the answer be?

Ok, that's it for tonight. Thank you for being a part of my reading circle. The next few weeks are going to be awesome; I will let you know how it goes. Oh, and in case you're in Montgomery on Thursday, come by the Hilltop Public House. And, if you're in town on Friday, and want to come by LDC, I get to share the stage with one of my best friends as we tell a story of a small Air Force and Big Connections... 

 Sending you much love from Alabama...

V/r,

JW

PS: Speaking of stories, I am 100% you have a story to share. So, click this link and give me your advice, share a memory, or make a wish: https://share.vidday.com/e/o-cwvf1n

I will put everything I receive into a movie and watch it on Day One of my New Job!