July 16: Who are we?

We started the meeting with this quote:

"Every discussion which is made from an egotistic standpoint is corrupted from the start and cannot yield an absolutely sure conclusion.  The ego puts its own interest first and twists every argument, word, even fact to suit that interest."  - Paul Brunton

Not my ego!  I'm perfect!  I know everything and don't need to worry about what other people think because I am the best!

Ha!  When the ego is in charge, it has a hard time listening to other people's opinions.  We are unable to allow other thoughts, concerns and "sides" inside.   The things we supposedly hear from others twists into our own thoughts very easily.   When we are able to set that aside and truly listen to others we can allow their thoughts to meld into ours; sometimes changing our viewpoint or perhaps enforcing what we already believe.   Even if you don't agree with a person, just understanding what they believe and seeing things from their side is the first step to empathy and compromise.

Understanding the background of a person also goes well with this thought.  What do they love?  What do they hate?  What drives them and makes them "tick"? 

For this alone, I'm glad we had the opportunity during our meeting to do presentations on ourselves.   I mentioned this before in this post.  Here are some of the things I didn't know about the other people in the Flight Academy:

Quinn: He's so funny!  haha  He had me in stitches during his presentation.  He's into Power Yoga.  How awesome is that?  Exhausting too.  He mentioned T-Rex!  Sweet!  Quinn is definitely someone I could be friends with.

Cade: He sees himself as a crime fighter with his work.  Comic book style.  I love that viewpoint!  He's a gamer, really good speaker and is not afraid to start something new.  I mean anything...   You put something in front of him that's challenging to learn and he'll say, "Ya, sounds like fun!"

Candace: She is an assistant to a magician!  So cool.  She's very close to her mom and family.  It's a driving factor for her.  She's a huge adventurer.  As an example, she would jump out of a plane with very little prompting.   I admire that.

Stephen: He loves manual labor!  I think that's awesome because he has a desk job, ya know?  He made me think of how I love gardening.  There's something peaceful in it.

Kylee: She has always been organized with her toys and life (that wasn't surprising....) but the surprising thing is that she never had an imaginary friend because she didn't realize they weren't real.  She thought it was just a friend only you could see and no one else.  I never had an imaginary friend because I thought it was a waste of my time.  I could entertain myself without someone else.  ha!  She also was a TOMBOY!  HOLY CRAP!!!!   I knew I loved Kylee for a good reason!

David: He also mentioned T-Rex!  Ya!  Also he's done sooooo much in his life!  I'm jealous.   I learned a ton that I never knew because he's usually very reserved.  Military, lots of jobs, etc.  He's been all over the map.   What a great guy.

Abbie: Holy crap Abbie!  She made me (almost) cry.  She told a very personal story from when she was young (16) and it was very inspiring.   She also has the most amazing capacity for forgiveness.  She has forgiven her father.   She has a ton of love in her and her son has got to be a terrific guy.  I love Abbie!

Marc: Marc is reading Les Mis!  Wow!  He loves comic books, right?  I know that.  But also to pick up that huge book and read the unabridged version.  That's dedication.  Oh man, I wrote another note and I can't read one of my words.  I wrote, "1st place he's Xayed at."   What is that X?  lol  What does it mean????  lol  

Tammy: She's been with the company for 28 years!  I had no idea.   Her dream job is to work with marine animals.   Saving, playing, anything.   I have always known she loves animals and has such a huge heart for them.   I just didn't know she loved the dolphins so much.  :)

Melissa: LOVES EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!  ha!