And if it is true, “What we think, we become,” then perhaps social media provides the vehicle for us to become what we wish to be, in lieu of the realities of each of our lives. Thanks for your perception of the world…

http://goo.gl/I4Wd

Is the real question whether or not we can agree with someone whole-heartedly on a professional level when we lose respect for them because of their personal decisions?

Just wondering?

Patrick

That’s a valuable gift to oneself, one that may or may not meet the needs of others. I know that I am sometimes a disappointment to folks when I meet them, and I’m OK with that…sometimes, I’m not and I greet both with equal embarassment.

Every time I write, it makes a difference…for me, and, sometimes, for others.

That said, when we meet, I realize that I am a flawed human being trying to understand another person who may be better off, equally or worse flawed than I. If what I have to share helps, great. If what they have to offer helps me, and they offer it without strings, then I’ll consider accepting it.

We can be stronger together but only when we embrace our faults and share our vulnerabilities…they are what we have to offer in the end, and they can be…glorious.

Time to read St. George and the Dragon and the Quest for the Holy Grail again…join me?

The act of creation embodied in my blog, in everything I write, are powerful antidotes to the poison I encounter in the wilderness of despair, of fear, and hypocrisy. The act of creation does not negate my own acts of despair, fear, and hypocrisy. Rather, it allows me to transform them, like the dragon in my favorite story of St. George and The Quest for the Holy Grail. (Click on the link, read the story…ok, here it is:

From my position high on the dragon’s back, I noticed that the dragon’s body was covered with old wounds. WHenever the dragon breathed forth fire to light the path in front of us, I noticed that the wounds glowed golden-red in the dark. When I asked about them, the dragon replied, “Oh, my friend, I have been slain a thousand times, but I have always arisen again. These old wounds are the source of my power and my insight. Our greatest and worst enemies are not the monsters who roam the forest or even wicked witches or evil wizards. No, it is our scars, our wounds, and old injuries that we must fear. As we journey through life we have all been injured–hurt by parents, brothers or sister, schoolmates, strangers, lovers, teachers. Each wound has the power to talk to us, you know. They speak, however, with crooked voices because of the scars.
All of us have wounds–old ones and new ones–and whenever the monster appears, when hell breaks loose, we know that our old wounds are talking guiding us. It is these wounds that must be confronted (Hays, 1986).)

If more information about someone makes me push away, the problem isn’t them…it’s me. It means, provided they were open, that I let old wounds guide me.

But now I’m wondering…can you ever really know that Midwestern university professor beside you? Maybe he cheated on his exams to get his degree, or slept with his (or her) professors, or…

Sheesh. You just never know do you?

@Andrea H: I, too, will continue to err on the side of being open, trusting, and, perhaps, naive.

@Jen Wagner: Awesome comment. Thanks so much for portraying the other side!

@Helene Martin: Sorry if you think this post is judgmental. I didn’t mean it to be. I was just trying to portray some scenarios that might be hidden for otherwise well-known bloggers. I didn’t have anyone in particular in mind when I wrote these up; in other words, these don’t describe real people that I know and deliberately are not the situations that prompted this blog post. You’re correct that some of these – e.g., being a cutter or a kleptomaniac – may fall under the category of ‘personal, private demons that shouldn’t concern us’ rather than the category of ‘things we might care about because they cause us to rethink our perception of someone as a good, honest, trustworthy person.’

@Doug Johnson: I knew you kicked kittens! I appreciate your sentiment to separate the work from the person. That said, we sure spend a lot of time in literature understanding authors’ lives and contextual backgrounds to help inform our understanding of what they wrote. I’m not sure if I agree that knowing the whole person – and not just the online persona – isn’t worthwhile at some level (if it ever can be achieved).

@Randy Rodgers: This is a fair criticism. If members of our PLN are just casual, professional acquaintances (i.e., people with whom we have fairly loose ties), then perhaps we don’t care. But if our PLN members are more than that – or on their way to becoming more than that – then I think it may be more relevant. Some of my PLN members started as ‘people who live so far down the street that I don’t really care that much about them’ but have morphed into something that more closely resembles ‘neighbors next door about whom I care a lot more than I used to.’

@David Putz (who’s a school board member here in Ames, IA): Thanks for leaving a comment. I concur that it’s critical for schools to be teaching students to be effective navigators of – and critical thinkers in – our new digital tools and information landscapes. I’m not sure we do a very good job of that, either in Iowa or nationwide.

I appreciate the feedback and conversation, everyone. Hope to see many of you at the ISTE conference!