Doing the work. Taking the credit.

I was at a school prize-giving last night and got a sense of a place where pupils and teachers were working closely together to build and extend their learning community. A wide range of results, not only academic, was reported and the tone of the evening was optimistic and upbeat. People were clearly doing the work and getting the credit.
Nationally, postal workers are taking industrial action. Staff interviewed on the radio say that they are expected to do extra duties and work longer hours for the same pay. Management stresses the need for modernisation to keep the Royal Mail viable. Has the dispute arisen because work and credit have got out of balance?
The relationship between these two factors is also affected when some people do the work while others take the credit. Indira Gandhi shared the wisdom of her grandfather on this point. He told her that there were two groups of people in the world, those who do the work and those who take the credit. His advice was to always strive to be in the first group as there would be much less competition!
I'm following that advice and letting the work speak for itself.

Solving or salving?

I had a very enjoyable meal when in Newcastle-upon-Tyne last week. When settling the bill the server asked if I would add a little extra to help with the Restaurants Against Hunger campaign in which they were taking part. October 16 has been designated as World Food Day and the UK wide fund-raiser aims to let diners make a contribution simply by dining out. The question is whether it will solve the problem of child hunger or salve the diner's conscience?
I think it's a good campaign and wish it well. However I checked out the website hyperlinked above and could only find one Northern Ireland restaurant taking part. The owners should be complimented. Where are the others? Come on!
I also wonder what else we might do. Why not charge £££ for a bowl of plain boiled rice or an energy biscuit.
That would also make the point and maybe hit the wallet more.

Culture Night Belfast

Friday 25 September. Belfast's Cathedral Quarter buzzed with laughter, music and song last night as it played host to Culture Night. Artists, musicians and performers showcased their talents in streets and venues all around this old part of the city. The weather was mild and dry and people had turned out in their hundreds. Commercial Court, an entry off Donegall Street, reminded us of a continental street scene with people eating and drinking outside. We ate in Printers Cafe Bar, packed inside and out by people clearly caught up in the positive spirit of the event. We moved on to a nearby carpark, that had been transformed by Friends of the Earth into a supervised bike park doubling up as a tealight-in-a-jar lit venue for singer songwriters.
Surprises were everywhere. On turning one corner we bumped into a differently-abled choir. They were brilliant and got us all engaged in joining in and keeping time. They performed an African piece during which even they were surprised when a woman from Zimbabwe clearly delighted at seeing her own culture represented joined them at the front, dancing and singing with those gorgeous ululations that won the appreciation of the ever-growing audience. There was much, much more.
Two things strike me about the event. The artists and artisans were anchored to their venue on our behalf. Each was a strand to this weave of cultural diversity. We got to see the mesh and the whole picture, they didn't. But without them and their individual contributions the effect would have been so much less. So thank you to them.
My second thought is that I have rambled these streets since early childhood, our family shop was there and my school. I have watched its decline over the years and its recent steps to recovery. I have never seen the area so vibrant as I did last night. So thank you to the organisers. Please. Bring it on again!

A Magical Mystery Tour

It was our son's 18th birthday earlier this month and we wondered how we might surprise him with a memorable present. He loves the Beatles and so we decided a trip to Liverpool would be just the ticket to ride! We packed his case and said nothing until 5.30am when we woke him up to tell him he was going on a mystery tour.
Excitement? - you bet!
We did the tourist thing and visited places where the Fab4 grew up, met and performed. We booked the Magical Mystery Tour bus, with a terrific guide who had all the passengers sing Happy Birthday in their various languages and played the Beatles song " they say it's your birthday!" to our son's embarrassment but obvious delight.
It was magical to travel down Penny Lane imagining the pretty nurses and the banker; stopping at Strawberry Field and downing a drink at the Cavern Club on Mathew Street. We spent most of the next day at The Beatles Story - an excellent permanent exhibition on the Albert Dock.
Our weekend trip coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Beatles break-up and there was a lot of media hype surrounding the release of their remastered recordings - some in mono! We caught Beatlemania and arrived back in Belfast with all sorts of merchandise. All in all it was a most memorable and enjoyable family break.
Their song, In My Life, includes the words, "there are places I remember" - Liverpool is one of them.
And the music is improving with age.

Perceptual Positions: to see ourselves as others see us

Robert Burns composed his "To a louse" having observed the creature strolling around the collar of an elegantly dressed woman who was totally unaware of her less than fashionable accessory. In his poem he wrote:
"O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us, To see oursels as others see us!"
Thinking about Burns's words, I wonder how many times there have been, when I have failed to notice how my mood, responses and actions have appeared to others.
A lack of awareness.
Then I am aware of other times when things didn't go as well as I had planned. How must my behaviour have looked and sounded? What if I had behaved differently? Been more resourceful? That raises the question of how to learn from such situations?
NLP offers the gift of seeing ourselves as others see us in the form of Perceptual Positions. The techniques are described in this Wikipedia item. Essentially we are invited to see not only from our own position, but from a second, third and even more positions. The technique allows us to revisit a situation and to learn from it. It is also useful in planning to be more resourceful in a given situation.
One of the great things about being an NLP practitioner is that you get to help others help themselves to more resourceful states. It's great to sense that subtle shift when a different perceptual position changes someone's subjective experience of an event.
So being at a "louse" end, I am off to plan an upcoming meeting.

The Salmon of Knowledge

Belfast has been enjoying a spell of warm and sunny weather this past week. My office backs onto the River Lagan near the docks and during a break I went to cool off by the river. I was surprised to see, for the first time there, a man fishing and decided to chat. He told me that he was fishing for mackeral. "A scavenger fish," I said. "Not at all," came the reply, "that's a myth. It doesn't deserve that reputation" and he went on to talk about its many fine qualities. He told me that, because of its cleaner water, fish have been returning to the Lagan. He was particularly delighted that salmon are also making their way back with a trap-counter nearby registering a thousand fish. As a fisherman, he was hopeful for the future.

There is a local legend about Finn MacCumhaill and the Salmon of Knowledge. The story goes that the salmon had gleaned all the wisdom of the world and had been given to Finn to cook. While he was cooking it, Finn burned his finger. When sucking on his finger to cool it down, he gained all the wisdom of the world.

News from Belfast has been dominated recently by some racist incidents. Many feel that the actions of a small band of troublemakers have damaged the reputation of the city as a welcoming place.

Like the mackeral, we have many fine qualities and will need to work hard to restore our reputation. We have burned our fingers on the heat of intolerance.

I hope that on sucking them, we get some wisdom and that the salmon will keep coming back.

The Refugee Woman and Child - 1974

I have been disturbed and ashamed at the scenes of Romanian families being forced from their homes to find refuge in a local church hall and a leisure centre. The news this evening reports that they have now gone to an undisclosed safe place with police protection.

Refugees from Belfast, 2009.

35 years ago I was living in a town in the centre of France. Large numbers of refugees had come to Europe from Chile following Pinochet's military coup. Those I saw appeared to have very little and one meeting is seared into my memory.

It was during Sunday mass and a refugee woman carrying a small child came into the church. She walked directly to the altar and asked the priest for money. An uncomfortably direct appeal. The priest took her to the side and I watched as he discreetly give her some money. Relief.

Then she turned and walked down the aisle holding out her hand in turn to each of the members of that small congregation. Some refused. Then, she came to me..... I can still see her face.

It was a poignant moment. I was disturbed then, still am, and on returning home spent some time putting my thoughts into a poem. Here it is, 35 years later and sadly still relevant.

"The Refugee Woman and Child"

This morning I met the mother of God

As she held out her hand to say

Give me some money for my child in rags

I have asked and been turned away.

I gave her some centimes in loose change

Her eyes questioned,"Is that enough?"

And the paper money in my wallet

Is still there, richly folded up.

And now I think only of that young child

That we are nailing to a tree

"What you do to the least of my brethren,

Then, that so you do unto me".

From 1974 to 2009; from Chile to France; from Romania to Ireland. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Maybe not this time. Chris Tracey.