Proposal: New Holiday Tradition

[Anonymous]

The generosity and giving to others illustrated here on this forum is heart-warming. So much so, it has touched me to initiate a challenge.

In keeping with the holiday spirit shown here, of thinking and giving to others….I hereby challenge all forum members to write their posts without using the word “I”….for the month of December.

What do you say? Think you can do it? :)

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[JoB]

i can do it. i am just unsure how that will contribute to the holiday spirit.

the i word is kind of essential to making sure that everyone knows that what you are writing is your individual point of view and not that of others…

and this is a forum.. where you exchange ideas.

i think the idea behind the challenge is a good one.. to think of others this holiday season.

perhaps we can come up with a better way to do that?

How about a thread dedicated to the small things you could do this holiday season to enrich the lives of others?

they wouldn’t even have to be things you have done.. just ideas…

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[Anonymous]

NR, *I* feel your pain and understand the intent. Tired of all the self-congratulatory back patting. I’m guessing you don’t mean literally no use of the word *I*, but rather that we focus on others over ourselves and the need for attention, approval, material wants, etc. Just do it already. Help your family, friends, neighbors and strangers. The world will be a better place.

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[celeste17]

My way of giving back is to back cookies and take them to the fire department every year. This is in part to say Thank You for the number of times that they have come to the house for either my Dad or lately my Mom. Another way I give back is to help a neighbor doing a chore they couldn’t do. Such as help them haul bags up the stairs and out to the curb for trash day because they had a flood. Or take a meal to a neighbor who has had surgery. Little things that mean a lot to someone else.

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[Gina]

Me can try. Me sound like Cookie Monster though.

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[add]

LOL Gina. (me) was thinking along the lines of David Sedaris’ “Me Talk Pretty One Day”. Or Sarah Palin’s habit of eliminating the “I” at the start of a sentence when asked about what she thought about something (i.e., “Gov. Palin, how do you feel about the status of the campaign?” “Feelin’ good about what we’re progressin’ toward, also.”)

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[Huindekmi]

Huindekmi thinks this is a great idea. Huindekmi will make a concerted effort not to use the offending single-letter word for the rest of the month. Huindekmi may like posting in the third-person so much, Huindekmi may continue well into the New Year.

Thanks for the idea, NR. It’s a lot better than the last new holiday tradition Huindekmi’s family adopted: “Feats of Strength”

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[JoB]

ROFLOL

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[Anonymous]

So, just what was expected, it IS impossible.

Oh well….

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[JanS]

yeah…well…how would you want us to refer to ourselves when we’re giving our opinion on here? We’re not speaking for others, we’re speaking for ourselves…so that single letter word is sometimes important to use. Does it make you think less of us because we don’t agree with the idea? It’s a curiosity question, really…are we somehow lower in your eyes because we don’t see eye to eye with you? Are you saying “so, just what was expected, it is impossible” in a derogatory manner? We hope not.. it’s certainly not the spirit of the season.:)

( notice…that word was not used once in the paragraph above)

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[JoB]

new resident…

that depends..

if your intent was to focus thoughts on others and not on self i would say it worked out pretty well…

if your intent was to issue a challenge with rules that had to be followed to the letter.. not so well.

if your intent was to make a point..

well.. only you know if the response you got made the point you had hoped.

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[Erik]

In the Feldy world we call this a constraint…used to limit part of a movement in order to see how we reorganize our self to make the same movement.

But as JoB points out, there is a clear intention for doing this.

Erik thinks he knows what his intent was for babbling on this topic?

Reminds me of an episode of ‘Seinfeld’…the guest character Jimmy always referred to himself in the 3rd person…”Jimmy says”

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[JanS]

ok…now you’re gonna have to explain “Feldy world” to at least one person on here – lol…this person will never tell ;-)

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[Erik]

lol Jan, perhaps Erik should’ve just said in his profession?

In some circles every utterance of “I” is simply another reincarnation of oneself. How many times can one reincarnate in a paragraph?

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[JoB]

as a teen, i decided that i was far too involved with myself and i started using the small case for i every time i wrote the word.

i thought i was making a statement about myself … but i suspect i was making more of a point to others and about others than one that said anything to or about me.

old habits die hard and if not caught by spell check i am still the small case I.

it is only in my advanced old age .. hehehe… that i have decided that owning my point of view is worth I .. no matter which case i use.

There is a huge difference between owning your point of view and thinking yours is the only point of view.

Eric..

what would feldy world say about that :)

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[Erik]

Job –

The erik thinks:

Owning one’s POV is powerful.

Knowing and respecting that there are other POV’s is also powerful and compassionate.

Being willing to argue from a POV that’s different from the one you hold is even more powerful and a good indication of great intelligence.

so there…lol

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[charlabob]

the charla stopped using caps when the charla discovered ee cummings. then the charla realized it was annoying to some people, and that it was also a way of making the charla’s unusual name more visible and memorable. so the charla continues to do so.

the charla asks: is this post more or less self-than one what says “I”.

yet another failed “aHA” moment. keep trying…the charla is endlessly amused and, after all, isn’t that what you’re all here for? :-)

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[JoB]

It is good to be endlessly amused…

and the intent of New Resident’s post.. as i read it.. was also good… to make people aware of how centered they are on themselves.. and hopefully to think more of others as a result.

i applaud the intent… even though i didn’t agree with the method.

and i applaud being endlessly amused.

Charlabob… these things can become an affectation.. can’t they. unfortunately that leads to lazy habits when you are over the need for affectation… i confess.. it has for me:)

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[JoB]

affectations are in the end generally just self involved behavior.

they are no substitute for actually paying attention to the needs of others…

a kind word or a smile goes a long way to convince others that you are thinking of them.

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[charlabob]

aHA–you caught me — I’m just too lazy to bother with the shift key. And I spent at least 8 years in therapy to learn to be self-involved instead of self-effacing so I’m happy to see it succeeded…now I can graduate and use the money to buy books and bullets.

I’m living proof that one can be both empathic and effect affectations. I can smile in virtually any combination of upper, lower and mixed case. (Now I just have to work on diagramming those sentences.)

btw I, this posting is dripping with bemused irony. Irony does not always work in virtual space — but I continue to harbor the hope that someday it will. My words do not represent the kick-off to another JoB/charlabob skirmish. One of those was one too many.

(btw II, I’ll go back to using the normal number of “I’s” when the holiday season is over)

:-) ;-) LOL hehehehehehe

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[JoB]

charlabob..

may the typewritten god of happiness smile benevolently on our innocent.. or not so innocent… affectations… ;~>

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