Unit 4 - Lesson 2.3 - Perspectives walk

What do I know
of a tree
Nothing
but that its
rootedness
moves me.

Lucy Aphramor

1) Become Aware of the now: (15 minutes)

Go on a walk (15-30mins). It can be local to where you live or work - or further afield. – As you walk, consider how your role as a human/scholar/activist fits with care-full practice. Pause when you see/hear/smell/feel something that resonates with you. What is it about this place that made you pause?
Find a place, position and perspective that is consistent with your inner feeling. It may be the same place that made you pause, or you may wish to continue walking. Observe the thoughts, feelings and questions that accompany you in the process. Become aware of the essential characteristics and perspectives that made you choose this place.
Try to give the place a name (or a headline) that represents its essence for you (no more than 5 words).
Re-examine the place. How do you feel here? Where do you feel harmony? Where do you feel dissonance?

2) Explore the Future: (10 minutes)

Do you feel any impulses to change the place? How? In which direction? What are the different possibilities?
Give in to the impulses and try walking in different directions. Observe what happens inside you while you do that. What would be the consequences of each change? Would you gain something, would you have to let go of something? What feels harmonious, what not?
Give the different perspectives a name.

3) Learning journey reflections

Think back over the whole experience and try to crystalise your thoughts and impressions in a concise sentence, a headline that describes your ‘Perspectives Walk’, and that you can remember later. If you want, share the headline and perhaps a drawing, a picture or an image representing your walk, on the common MOOC platform.

This exercise is inspired by the method Dialogue Walk offered by Theory U facilitators (@MIT Presencing Institute).