Dictionary::
literacy |ˈlitərəsē; ˈlitrə-|
noun
the ability to
read and write.
Emotional Literacy is all about reading signals.
Feelings are signals.
They surge through us every mili-second
when we are awake.
Even when we sleep.
Feelings are signals.
It is the big ones that matter.
The ugly ones really matter.
Unless humans reach some competency in
managing feelings they will be controlled.
Control is bad.
Like a capped volcano -
they will eventually erupt.
In 1979 I conducted my first study of Youth Gangs.
I focused on the number one issue.
The aspect of their lives which was most difficult for them.
My study was titled 'Emotional Deprivation'.
We now understand this as 'Emotional Literacy' -
an ability in understanding and managing emotions.
These young humans lived with violence.
They exploded, erupted, lashed out and received in return.
One day a teenager came into the Club swinging a builder's pick axe.
He chased another young man around the pool table
with myself in-between the two - I will never forget it!
Later on that same evening
they were playing football together in the sports hall.
The volcano had erupted.
Then behaviour returned to normal.
Capped emotions,
awaiting the next rumble from within.
We can learn how to manage our emotions.
It is possible to become more aware.
It is possible to become more skillful.
"If we only have a Hammer
We see everything as a Nail."
2012
I will share a few stories with you,
I will share experiences with you,
I will share tools for the toolbox with you.
You will be able to take them and
transpose them into your own life and work -
because signals rise within us
in every aspect of our existence.
In our Toolboxes we need more than a Hammer.
- PipBhp
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