I had this weird question this morning: what would I miss if I were ‘torn’ away from ‘home’?
I would miss playing Freecell. Maybe I would miss my first cup of tea in the morning. I would miss writing an article. I would miss talking to you.
Citizen Kane missed being young. Sliding down the hill on his sled… the rush of the slide, the freedom of winter, the yelling…
When I look back, leaving a country is a lot like that.
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Dear Sophie:
I just watched this interview with the author of “Never Split the Difference.” It’s a book about negotiation techniques. The author is a former FBI hostage negotiator. I found it quite intriguing. My head was spinning just trying to keep up with the conversation. Afterwards, I was left with very mixed feelings. It seemed to me that my desire to learn more about these techniques was rooted in greed and a sense of wanting to learn in order to win or manipulate. Whatever the feeling, I am not comfortable with it; it was not a pure feeling. I have a different idea about communication, one having to do with connection, more along the lines of Steven Covey, ” Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood,” and Dale Carnegie, and the Communication Course. Maybe I misread the author (without having read the book). Maybe my aversion to learning negotiating techniques is related to my resistance to A is A. I am curious to know the truth value of the material and the intention behind it.
If you play to win, you’ll always play a small game.
Play to win in anything.
Win friends, and influence people.
Win an argument
Win a competition
Win at cards
Win at computer games
Win a reward, a salary, a compliment, a free examination from a vet
to look smart, respectable, well-thought-of, generous, holy, spiritual, humble… whatever will make you look, so you can live another day.
