Sue James

Stories, Reflections & Journeys

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Multiple Realities

Filed Under: Featured, Journeys, Reflections, Resources, Stories · April 30, 2010 · 1 Comment ·

Multi-direction signpostOne of the assumptions made in Appreciative Inquiry is that “reality is created in the moment, and there are multiple realities“.

The meaning of this assumption is sometimes a little obscure for folk when they first encounter it.

But there are many practical examples of this in daily life that help to illustrate what it means.

For example, have you ever tried to intervene in a quarrel between two children or teenagers? If so, you’ll know exactly what ‘multiple realities’ can look like. :) Those two kids have obviously been in the same place at the same time and experienced the same event when their quarrel started. But sometimes when you listen to their stories, you’d swear they’d been on different planets!

And in my experience as a family mediator some years ago, this phenomenon was equally apparent. When participants in a mediation session shared what had brought them to this point and their perceptions about what had happened, “multiple realities” were always at play.

Finally, here is a wonderful (and very thought-provoking)  TED talk from Elizabeth Pisani called “Sex, Drugs and HIV – Let’s Get Rational“. With clear logic, sharp wit and warmth, she shows us how different groups in our community have very different perspectives on what actually contributes to or helps to prevent the spread of HIV.

Multiple realities indeed! :)

Perspective & Reality

Filed Under: Archive Slider, Reflections · May 17, 2009 · 2 Comments ·

Inspired by some amazing 3-D street art by Karl Mueller, I’ve been reflecting on perspective and the nature of reality.

Folk in both the scenes below appear to be in danger of plunging to their deaths in a deep crevasse.

Karl Mueller The Great Crevasse
(Click for larger image)
Karl Mueller - The Crevasse
(Click for larger image)

But it’s all an illusion, based on the perspective from which we’re viewing the scene. From where they’re standing, they know they are on solid ground.

Karl Mueller, who created the art work above said ‘I wanted to play with positives and negatives to encourage people to think twice about everything they see.’

Similarly, many of the shadows we see in our lives are of our own making. We take what we think is a dangerous risk, only to find the leap hasn’t been so great and we’re landing safely after all.

Or we experience things that, at the time, are deeply painful and we’d give anything to be somewhere else. It’s only later, standing in a different place and viewing them from a different perspective, that we can see the gifts those experiences have given us.

One of the assumptions made in Appreciative Inquiry is that ‘Reality is created in the moment and there are multiple realities.’

Whether we see a  particular situation as a problem, an opportunity, a disaster or a gift depends on where we’re standing and how we look at it.

The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective.

(Al Neuharth)

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Books I’ve Read

Sue's bookshelf: read

The Chase
3 of 5 stars
The Chase
by Janet Evanovich
The Heist
3 of 5 stars
The Heist
by Janet Evanovich
Vanish in Plain Sight
3 of 5 stars
Vanish in Plain Sight
by Marta Perry
Eat Me
4 of 5 stars
Eat Me
by Agnès Desarthe
Odd One Out
3 of 5 stars
Odd One Out
by Monica McInerney

goodreads.com