"POSITIVE" + "EMERGENCY" - Robert

photo : Lyne Lefebvre
_______________________________________________________
POSITIVE EMERGENCY?
I have been wanting to do to many things at once and end up not focusing. Giving myself objectives of doing things one after the other, finishing one before starting another, I often fail...phone rings, job matters to take care of, get back to course/thesis for a short period, dog needs a run, I need to eat...Not often time to dive back into Findings, so start reading a course participant, expected in a reunion, not enough time left to answer, and time again flies too fast.

> I wanted to get chapter 4 finished, so I can have a better over all glance at findings..won't get there.
> I wished to send it to Lucie my supervisor before leaving for RRU...won't make it.
> I was hoping to journal a little post everyday. I haven't done it for the past week.
> Here is one (check)
> I had in mind to keep track of all the entrees in the 8 groups. Not quite there yet.
> I was hoping to get the readings done ahead. The plane will have to do.
> I intended to start choosing and translating my future board content. On res will have to do as well...
> I wanted to start preparing my pres for residency, just looking at which photos could suit my purposes takes me too long. I was hoping not to feel overwhelmed...
> Aside that, I don't have to run with my dog, he's in the country, swimming with friends (check)
...

So...Here is one thing done. A brief journal of the day, no matter how depressing it sounds to visualize things you -want- to do as -checking- them out. I am not really, but I am just observing. It may help me focus on one thing a day, each one a little bit, until I leave for residency. I did promise myself a year of peaceful and calm attitude towards multiple tasks needed, as opposed to always feeling I am running after time, which I hate, ca be a source of stress instead of a relief, and have put myself into more then often during the past 3 years I find.

I also wanted to make sure I responded Robert, one of our instructors, as he said he was « interested to hear more about how it takes you deeper and the kinds of insights it reveals. » This might be answered more clearly as chapter four takes form. Robert also commented he «sense(d) that the paradox between "positive" and "emergency" approaches is a key tension driving your thesis work.» I can at least say he's right that understanding this tension was my initial intent - although it came out that effective strategies for mobilizing and the strengths of citizen collective solidarity feel they came out to be central -, and that my findings so far have not helped me feel that my gut feelings, re/actions and personal subjectivity were the best approach to effective environmental communication... although I do share much of my interviewees impressions, and although I believe I have sort of - matured - or learned differently along the way, I remain with the similar feeling of dissonance I experience all the time when faced with awareness of our responsibility as opposed to our actions in terms of ecocide so far. Anyhow, what those 2 words inspired me in a glance, as a picture, was the one chosen for this little post. Positive and Emergency combined. Sounds like a Band-Aid won't be a good enough cure for the crisis though.
_______________________________________________________