Playing in the Field

As the hunt for work continues, with all of its highs and lows, I have to admit that ultimately this is all good for me.

Now that’s fairly difficult to say nwhen you are hunting for employment- with bills to pay and people to feed unemployment is more than a bit terrifying. Some days good, some not so good, but all are simply further moves on the game board. Chutes and Ladders for grown-ups.

Major realizations….

I am over fifty now, and that is a bone of contention with employers. One recruiter told me that most of the principals in  his system would be loathe to hire someone of my age and experience.

My feet aren’t getting better. Can’t dance, can run for about twenty yards before they break down, and they are a simple part of daily thought. It’s a bitch but what can you do? Major lesson though- if you try and walk about three miles a day with what I’ve got you better be prepared to wonder why your feet are numb from the toes to the heel (and all the way up the leg even!)

I bury the lead. Bloss understands this…

The trick to what I do isn’t a trick- it’s a way of being. When asked what I would bring to a program, I was stumped for more than a moment. I am not accustomed to blaring my own horn. Yes, I am as egotistical as the next actor, but I generally brag about the people I’ve helped- not myself. So when your body of work is best described by your students, it pays to figure out why they’ve been helped so.

I haven’t helped them nearly as much as they have helped me, but certainly that’s not their intent- you don’t try to help the teacher learn. All I can finally say is that it’s about two things- how well you listen, and how well you communicate.

Forced to confront that “what” of me, I finally got a glimpse of what the “what” is. Recently folk have taken to calling me authentic or genuine. But what the hell does that mean?

In the midst of talking to three interviewers, I finally got a glimpse. Without question, even interviewing is teaching- you’ve but a brief moment in time to communicate a reality- in the case of an interview why you stand out among a group of candidates.

And in my case, what makes me stand out is the listening thing. I can talk up a storm and weave wonderful stories, but I listen too. My awareness of self extends to my awareness of the “other’s” reality. Blame it on improvisation training- you focus so hard on the effect of your words that you react in real time, unfettered.

That’s what causes the double entendre’s- I am so wrapped up in the moment that I don’t focus on five different ways to take what I’ve said.

But with every individual, be they three years old or sixty, the focus remains the same. I don’t see them as adults or children, but simply as people. If they don’t understand what I am saying, I restate. I measure whether they understand or not. And that means that all are treated as equal.

Result is that no matter the situation, I stay myself. Sometimes that translates to errors in judgment, but mostly it translates to effective communication, and a deeper sense of understanding between people.

Try treating a thirteen year old as an adult, and you’ll see what happens. If they err they err, but you will hear the real person, the authentic soul.

If you want a different understanding, rent The Legend of Bagger Vance. Will Smith spends a fair amount of time in the flick trying to get Matt Damon to find his “authentic” swing- the one that only he can master, and the one that is so elusive. That, and “playing in the field.”

I like to play in the field.