Water
by Thomas Webber
So my name is Thomas. I'm the HR director at Middle Women. You are people who came to this event.
I really want to help you to understand how much of an effect that you have on the people around you. So, if you could for a moment, imagine yourself as a drop of water in this bottle [has a water bottle in front of him]. And everyone else in the room is the other water drops, (like your friend on Facebook, strangers in public,) all in here [in the water bottle that Thomas is holding]...
Realize that each drop of water has an effect on the other water droplets. Now, I know this because I know about physics and how water works, and you guys are very similar. Water just mingles around itself. That is a great quality about it.
But have any of you ever had an experience where someone felt it was their responsibility to spread their bad day. They had a frown, and they felt the need to spread it to you.
Just a few words of negativity can turn your whole community [add yellow food coloring to the water in the water bottle]... into... what is essentially pee water. Unpalatable.
Now, my grandfather was a narcissist. I know this because of the way he acted and that he didn't want to admit he was a narcissist. Narcissism is a funny thing. It is the need, the perception of perfection without the knowledge of how to achieve it. My grandfather went home every day and yelled at my mom and her siblings. He did that because he was afraid.
He ended up stripping them of their joy, power, and control because he was afraid that he was going to lose those things himself.
There is a saying: there are two wolves inside of you. One represents everything that is good. The other represents everything that is bad (anger, greed, jealousy). They are at war in your body all the time. And the one that wins, is the one that you feed.
Now, I am such a fan of appreciative inquiry. The definition of appreciate is: the valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems 2. to increase in value, e.g. the economy has appreciated in value. Synonyms: VALUING, PRIZING, ESTEEMING, and HONORING.
The definition of inquire is: 1. the act of exploration and discovery. 2. To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities. Synonyms: DISCOVERY, SEARCH, and SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION, STUDY.
I see a world that is not motivated by fear. I think that fear is a huge proponent for a lot of the problems in our society. I don't blame my grandfather for the things that he did. His actions were out of fear and he didn't have anyone to teach him not to be afraid.
If we can work on finding those things that we like and appreciate then there's going to be a lot more room for them, because we're feeding the good.
I think that positivity is another thing that just like negativity can affect your whole world.
And just a few drops, just a few words [added blue food coloring to the water in the water bottle], can turn your "pee water" into "eco green water".
Now something that I want to challenge you all to do is to think about what things are going well in your lives? What things are working out for you all? So, go home and add a drop of positivity into your bucket, and know the affect that you have on those around you.
I really want to help you to understand how much of an effect that you have on the people around you. So, if you could for a moment, imagine yourself as a drop of water in this bottle [has a water bottle in front of him]. And everyone else in the room is the other water drops, (like your friend on Facebook, strangers in public,) all in here [in the water bottle that Thomas is holding]...
Realize that each drop of water has an effect on the other water droplets. Now, I know this because I know about physics and how water works, and you guys are very similar. Water just mingles around itself. That is a great quality about it.
But have any of you ever had an experience where someone felt it was their responsibility to spread their bad day. They had a frown, and they felt the need to spread it to you.
Just a few words of negativity can turn your whole community [add yellow food coloring to the water in the water bottle]... into... what is essentially pee water. Unpalatable.
Now, my grandfather was a narcissist. I know this because of the way he acted and that he didn't want to admit he was a narcissist. Narcissism is a funny thing. It is the need, the perception of perfection without the knowledge of how to achieve it. My grandfather went home every day and yelled at my mom and her siblings. He did that because he was afraid.
He ended up stripping them of their joy, power, and control because he was afraid that he was going to lose those things himself.
There is a saying: there are two wolves inside of you. One represents everything that is good. The other represents everything that is bad (anger, greed, jealousy). They are at war in your body all the time. And the one that wins, is the one that you feed.
Now, I am such a fan of appreciative inquiry. The definition of appreciate is: the valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems 2. to increase in value, e.g. the economy has appreciated in value. Synonyms: VALUING, PRIZING, ESTEEMING, and HONORING.
The definition of inquire is: 1. the act of exploration and discovery. 2. To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities. Synonyms: DISCOVERY, SEARCH, and SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION, STUDY.
I see a world that is not motivated by fear. I think that fear is a huge proponent for a lot of the problems in our society. I don't blame my grandfather for the things that he did. His actions were out of fear and he didn't have anyone to teach him not to be afraid.
If we can work on finding those things that we like and appreciate then there's going to be a lot more room for them, because we're feeding the good.
I think that positivity is another thing that just like negativity can affect your whole world.
And just a few drops, just a few words [added blue food coloring to the water in the water bottle], can turn your "pee water" into "eco green water".
Now something that I want to challenge you all to do is to think about what things are going well in your lives? What things are working out for you all? So, go home and add a drop of positivity into your bucket, and know the affect that you have on those around you.
