Inside the Chrysalis is Moving!

Inside the Chrysalis is moving. I'm consolidating two blogs into one! Visit me at http://speckleofdirt.blogspot.com/!

Intelligence: Overrated?

I'm currently reading a couple of books with chapters on Intelligence. The first book I picked up a couple of weeks ago and is titled What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. After reading his popular book Tipping Point, I thought I'd go ahead and pick this one up. The second book is titled Nurtureshock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.

Intelligence is one of those things that can be uncomfortable to talk about in a crowd. I'm sure we've all run into those people who love to boast about their intelligence, much like some people like to boast about money or beauty or possessions. Rarely do you hear someone exclaiming their "average-Joeness" around the dinner table. But it's something we all think about. We want to be intelligent in our jobs. We want our kids to be intelligent at school and love when the teacher says "your child is so smart." But what does it really mean? Here is what I think about it.

Remember Enron? Enron recruited the best of the best, 250 MBA's each year and boasted about how much talent these people had and how smart they were. The problem was the company allowed these young "talents" to run wild with their new ideas. We all know what happened in the end. There was no structure within the organization. It isn't the "talent" that makes the organization smart, it's the structure, processes and systems that allow the "talent" to become successful.

Of course I always translate what I'm reading into my own life. So this lesson of organization and structure spoke to me. If I can put successful strategies in place and create an environment where each member of my family is working toward the success of the family as a whole, we can achieve success within that system...whatever we deem success to be. That was lesson #1 for me.

IQ testing was another chapter I read. I think these tests are fun and funny. It's interesting that these tests are not made up of difficult math problems or structural essays, but instead of perception, patterns and the like. If you click on the title of this post you will be directed to MENSA, an organization created for the top 2% of highly intelligent people in the population. It is a fun test, and if you really want to get serious you can take the official membership test and be granted admission to this elite group.

But I ask myself, "why?" Why take an intelligence test? It doesn't determine success or wealth. Members of MENSA range from Millionaires to Welfares (yes, people on welfare). Early IQ tests administered to children do not indicate future success. So many factors go into becoming a well-rounded adult who goes through life with humility, kindness and servanthood. One of those things is Emotional Intelligence.

Do you remember the book written in 1995 by Daniel Goleman about Emotional Intelligence? I read it along with other co-workers back then. It was an interesting read and the concept was adopted by many companies as part of their hiring objectives.

So what to do with all this? Well, I learned a long time ago that you can compare yourself to someone you perceive to be better than you at some attribute (intelligence in this case.) And the opposite is true as well. We can compare ourselves downward and gain an awareness that we are better at some attribute than someone else. Either way it is a negative state of mind that leads to insecurity when I compare myself up, and pride when I compare myself down. Enough with that, I say! Don't compare!

And so often, God puts things in perfect perspective when I seem to hone in on things I shouldn't. With all this IQ stuff rolling around in my mind these past couple of weeks, I was reminded that Jesus called average Joe's to His team! Tax collectors and fisherman. He can even use a stay-at-home-mom in her average-Joeness to focus on what is most important! And it's not IQ, athleticism, finances, beauty or anything else. It's loving Him and loving others. What a relief!

Inspiration in a Pile o' Dirt

I was at Ravenna Gardens the other day marveling at the garden decor and beautiful green foliage. I almost hesitated to walk in knowing how inspired and excited I can get about spring, yet it's so far away and I don't want to miss the pleasures of winter...hot soup, flickering candles, fuzzy socks...but, alas, I walked inside.

Walking past this display of seed packets I couldn't help but take a snapshot of the seeds organized in their little rows. My imagination conjures up bright sun, blue sky and all that these tiny seeds will become...parsley, lavendar, rosemary, thyme, lettuce...oh the joys of gardening!

There is a very large dirt pile in my backyard and I can't wait to hear the sound of a garden shovel as it pummels into the side of it. I can smell the earthy odor and see the moist, crumbling soil trickling down upon my shovel. I can feel the grit underneath my fingernails and see my soil stained fingers. I can feel the sun beating down on my shoulders and the slightly damp grass soaking through to my knees as I bend down to plant a tiny seed.

For now though, it's soup and candles and I will have to cling to that for another few months...but the dirt is calling...I may have to bring some inside?? Indoor tulips, hyacinth and daffodils...yes!

Guilty Pleasures

Just when New Year's Resolutions are in full swing, I decided to give in to a guilty pleasure...food. As I sat waiting for my Beet salad (roasted beets, orange segments, frisee and citrus vinaigrette) and Sweet Potatoe Fries at Trellis Restaurant in Kirkland, I couldn't help feeling guilty even though I don't make New Year's Resolutions.

I thought of how my having lunch at Trellis included a few popular resolutions all in one act: saving money, eating only homemade and using time wisely. Warning!! Justification to follow.

We all know the state of the economy and we do need to be wise consumers, but I felt good about paying $9 for the Beet salad. And, oh how delicious it was! Nine dollars isn't that much to fill your tummy and make a new food combination discovery, is it?

With regard to eating only food made from scratch in your own kitchen, well, this isn't always feasible when you're out and about. Besides, the chef at Trellis has a five acre garden where he grows much of the fruit and veg served at his restaurant. So it felt good to support a local farmer promoting the farm to table movement.

This next one may be a bit hard to justify. Lunch alone when you could be tackling a task doesn't seem like a good use of time, but I'll try. I sat waiting for lunch alternately looking outside the window at life passing by and reading about scientific studies on children. While eating, I overheard an elderly couple telling the waitress about their upcoming trip to Hawaii and I thought about family and resolutions and zest for life. And do you know what? The combination of all this: the food, life out the window, the act of reading and the sound of excitement in others, illicited a calming feeling in me.

I left geared up to finish my to-do list, greet my kids coming home from school and snuggling up with my family for the night. Not too bad for a $9 salad and 40 minutes out of my day.

So, here's to giving in to guilty pleasures here and there. Giving in a little might save you from giving up and giving in completely.

PERIPETY

In honor of Christmas and the New Year, I'm re-posting this one on PERIPETY...enjoy!!

Have you ever experienced a sudden change in events? A reversal in the normal course of action, or something that caused a shift in your direction? Maybe you learned something new that catapulted you on a fresh, inspired trajectory. This is called a Peripety.

Pronounced \pə-ˈri-pə-tē\ and defined by Websters as: a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances or situation, it comes from the Greek word Peripeteia and is where I find myself this Easter morning.

I am humble and thankful because I'm not who I was! Just as a fully mature tulip was once an ugly, course, dark and unexceptional bulb, I was once a different person than I am now. When I look back feelings of guilt don't corrupt me, I can look my "ugly" in the face and be thankful for my peripety.

When Jesus' loved ones went to the tomb to annoint His body with spices and oil, the grief they felt is unimaginable to us living on this side of the risen Lord. The empty tomb was the ultimate peripety, the reversal from death to life, unforgiveness to full forgiveness.

What an amazing truth of love and hope. When I accepted Jesus as the One who saved me from sin and death, my story suddenly changed. So, this Easter morning I'm swimming in the sweet fragrance of peripety, what about you?