[Ailist] EDISON - AN 'APPRECIATIVE PERSPECTIVE'

[Marge Schiller]

  I add two definitions to  the dictionary definitions of appreciative..

First- Appreciation of the ordinary.
  We can take so many things for granted. Think  of the hundreds of  
thousands of young people who go to school and learn-  yet the focus  
is on the exceptions like the Columbine school shooting tragedy.

Second-Appreciation in the face of the difficult or tragic.
Your story is a great example of resiliency and re framing.

Thanks.

Warmly,
Marge Schiller

On Sep 18, 2006, at 3:08 PM, Anu Parmar wrote:

> A Chance to Start Over.
>
>
>
> It was a cold December night in West Orange, New Jersey. Thomas  
> Edison's
> factory was humming with activity. Work was proceeding on a variety of
> fronts as the great inventor was trying to turn more of his dreams  
> into
> practical realities. Edison's plant, made of concrete and steel,  
> was deemed
> "fireproof". As you may have already guessed, it wasn't!
>
>
>
> On that frigid night in 1914, the sky was lit up by a sensational  
> blaze that
> had burst through the plant roof. Edison's 24-year-old son,  
> Charles, made a
> frenzied search for his famous inventor-father. When he finally  
> found him,
> he was watching the fire. His white hair was blowing in the wind.  
> His face
> was illuminated by the leaping flames.
>
> "My heart ached for him," said Charles. "Here he was, 67 years old,  
> and
> everything he had worked for was going up in flames. When he saw  
> me, he
> shouted, 'Charles! Where's your mother?' When I told him I didn't  
> know, he
> said, 'Find her! Bring her here! She'll never see anything like  
> this as long
> as she lives.'"
>
>
>
> Next morning, Mr. Edison looked at the ruins of his factory and  
> said this of
> his loss: "There's value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned  
> up. Thank
> God, we can start anew."
>
>
>
> What a wonderful perspective on things that seem at first to be so
> disastrous. A business failure, divorce, personal dream gone sour.  
> Whether
> these things destroy an individual depends largely on the attitude  
> he or she
> takes toward them. Sort out why it happened, and learn something  
> from the
> blunders. Think of different approaches that can be taken.
>
>
>
> Start over.
>
> Author unknown
>
>
>
> I came across this today..a wonderfully 'appreciative' perspective to
> meeting disasters and setbacks in our lives.
>
>
>
> We have 'Appreciative Inquiry (AI)' as a wonderful tool to help us  
> inquire
> into our positive core.  Now, I see an extension of this as the
> 'Appreciative Perspective (AP)' which is developing an 'eye for  
> appreciation
> / positive essence.'  There are times, when our intellect can only  
> 'inquire'
> so much.it can be an exhausting exercise, as revealing and  
> enlightening as
> it may be.  But, today I was thinking how effortless it is to  
> simply 'see' -
> be a witness.  No questions. No answers. But to simply see things  
> as they
> are.  This does not require any effort at all.
>
>
>
> We can, then take our 'witnessing/seeing' to the next level through  
> the
> 'Appreciative Perspective' lens, where we see with an eye for  
> appreciation /
> gratitude.  No questions. No answers.  Just a perspective.
>
>
>
> I like the definition of perspective as "faculty of seeing all the  
> relevant
> data in a meaningful relationship".
>
> "Appreciative Perspective" would be the 'faculty of seeing all the  
> relevant
> data in a positive, appreciative relationship."
>
>
>
> What do you think?
>
>
>
>
>
> Anu
>
>
>
> Anu Parmar
>
> SCA Strategies Inc.
>
> Business Development and Strategy Consulting
>
> Executive and Management Coaching
>
> Organization Development: Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space  
> Facilitation
>
> Truth. Knowledge. Success.
>
>
>
> Tel:  905 457 8623
>
> cell: 647 400 8623
>
> anuparmar at scastrategies.com
>
>
>
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