Month: March 2011

animals, dogs, kindness

Beginning: My Pup, Phineas, and the Homeless

Christa Avampato

Phineas happily rolling around on the grass in Central Park shortly before meeting his new friend
I took Phineas out for two long walks on Saturday and Sunday. The warming effects of Spring are underway and he’s more than happy to get outside for as long as possible and stretch those legs after a long and too-cold winter. He’s felt cooped up for too long; we both have.

One our way back home, Phineas stopped on the sidewalk right in front of a homeless man who was asking for change. I didn’t have any to give him though Phineas was intent on sitting with him for a bit, letting the man stroke his head and even give him a little kiss on the snout. I was surprised for a number of reasons:

1.) Phineas can be a bit skittish around men he doesn’t know upon first meeting them.

2.) This man immediately stroked the top of his head rather than under the chin. Usually Phin likes to sniff out a new person before he’ll let them pet his head.

3.) Kisses on the snout immediately upon meeting someone is a dicey proposition for a dog. I’m not sure anyone has ever done that with Phin except for me. He more than happily took the affection.

As Phin and I said good-bye to the man and headed for home, I wondered how long it had been since the man had someone to show affection toward. Social services focus on feeding and clothing the homeless, getting them into shelter and providing them with medical care and job skills, but rarely considers the value of basic kindness: a touch, a hug, a smile.

Phineas offered his affection and time to this man without any hesitation, even when I was a bit nervous about the endeavor. He wasn’t nervous at all; he was confident and calm and glad to sit with him for a while. I learned a lot about the role of kindness and concern in that moment, and plan to carry it forward. We have so much to learn from animals.

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creativity, learning, mistakes

Beginning: Mistakes Pave the Way to Wisdom

Christa Avampato

“Mistakes are the usual bridge between inexperience and wisdom.” ~ Phyllis Theroux

In this year of new beginnings I’ve been thinking a lot about eradicating fear. The most wonderful thing about having a beginner’s mind is that it gives us the space and the freedom to experiment. We aren’t trying to be perfectionists or people who get it right. We’re playing, and in play, mistakes are welcome and expected.

The idea behind Phyllis Theroux’s quote concentrates on the utility and prevalence of mistakes. They take us from a place of ignorance to a place of knowledge. Last week I heard someone give a presentation in which one of his team’s annual goals is to “build a culture intolerant of defects.” My gut reaction to that language made me want to hide under the table or run out of the room. “That’s what’s wrong with his company,” I thought to myself. “Mistakes are not expected, accepted, or even allowed. No wonder there’s very little innovation here! People are too scared of being cast out to even try to do anything new.” And as a side note, there’s also very little wisdom in his company.

I thought about writing the speaker an anonymous note with Theroux’s quote on it and sending it off to him. The sad part is I really feel that once someone is that far gone down the path to perfection, there’s very little hope of pulling him back to reality until there is a burning platform underneath him. Instead, I’m going to show by example that if we can have even a hint of acceptance, or dare I say celebration!, of mistakes then all of a sudden the creativity really gets juiced up, the culture opens, and inertia of innovation can’t be stopped.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.