Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 10:42:30 EST From: No tink like today Subject: EXERCISE: Values (Courage) #2 [Based on the book "Teaching Your Children Values" by Linda and Richard Eyre, ISBN 0-671-76966-9] (p. 56) "Daring to attempt difficult things that are good. Strength _not_ to follow the crowd, to say _no_ and mean it. Being true to convictions and following good impulses even when they are unpopular or inconvenient. Boldness to be outgoing and friendly." "General Guidelines" (p. 59 and 60) include 1. Praise attempts--reward courage, it's hard, and it doesn't always succeed! 2. Teach by example--show courage and point it out 3. Clarify the difference between courage and "loudness," and between lack of courage and shyness. 4. Understand the makeup of courage--preparation, belief...think it through and be willing to pay the price. Some observations/games... (p. 61) "...some of our most courageous moments come on the heels of a failure from which we...try again." It takes courage to do something when you are scared and afraid. What are "today's dragons"--the things that take courage to face today? Suppose your (social unit, family, friends, etc.) had a "Leader for the Right" award that went to someone who stood up for something they believed in--what would you offer as your qualifying story during the last week? Not joining the crowd, taking chances for growth, showing emotions, making friends with unpopular people, expressing your talents publicly...think of incidents that take courage! Make a list of "what you're _good_ at" (talents, skills, gifts, and aptitudes). Then base your courage in your own strengths as an individual. Work through the various shadings of meanings--courage, cowardice, doubts, fear, blaming others, etc. Think about who is helped and who is hurt by each one. Make "decisions in advance"--think of situations that might be hard to decide on the spur of the moment and decide what you want to do. write it down. Imagineer going through situations involving that decision, and how you are going to stick to your decision. Make a list of everyday kinds of courage. okay? courage... [got your die hot? let's roll! oh, you were going to look ahead, weren't you? no, pick a number from one to six. do it now. now you can look at what you have picked.] 1. fear of...(pick something!) 2. friends 3. a mob of strangers 4. physical weakness (asthma? a congenital condition? you decide!) 5. the faceless corporate monster (name that monopoly!) 6. a very personal, very individual tormentor who knows how to make your character flinch... That's going to be the block, the challenge that makes doing it hard. So go ahead and think about your character, the person who is going to face the opposition, wince, think about it, look again, sweat and make faces and then step up to the line and...well, that's for you to decide. But right now, get acquainted with -- what was that name again? Pick another number, please? One to six, just like a hex. 1. friendship with a socially unacceptable person (pick one, you remember at least one, don't you?) 2. doing what you know is right, even if you don't think the majority agrees 3. to not do what you know is wrong, even if "everyone is doing it" 4. enjoying an artistic expression that you like (coming out of the closet about being "sensitive"! or just playing an instrument...) 5. expressing emotions where the cultural/social norms say you should "be tough" 6. fulfilling a promise [I really thought about tucking in little things, like apologizing, being willing to compromise to move forward, and so on, but decided to leave those for later. But if you really want to, feel free to use one of those daily trials...] So Charlotte (that wasn't the name? okay, Charlie, then?) is going to have a chance, a situation, calling for this little step on the edge of the socially accepted (or at least what is easy to do, with that little matter of opposition). Think about about it. Fill in the details so that you know exactly what Charperson should (or shouldn't) be doing, and how and why that opposition is going to get in the way. And how, pray tell, will the event go? Let me think a trifle...got another number? 1. an envelope 2. a penny 3. an old wishbone 4. a balloon 5. a rope 6. a battery That's your object. Think about how that object relates to courage, and what it means to Charstar. Then set up the scenes--the beginning in the midst of action where we meet Charder and set the stage, the middle scene(s) where we learn about the opposition, crank the tension and the stakes up a bit, and feel Charmar stretching and falling, then surprising us by coming back again to enter the final round...where the thin red line of courage shines so fine, and we see where Chardwell stands or falls when the flames roll in. (pssst? don't forget to work that little object in along the way, make it flap in the breeze/twist in the pocket/roll in the gutter/do something with it, a simple part of life suddenly embroidered with layers of meaning through your work, okay?) [and the world will be better for...don't forget that courage unrewarded, even unrecognized may make a statement so profound that it moves your reader to think. Just a thought, as the peanuts roast in the gallery...] Whoa! I can hardly wait to read these additions to the continuing tombs of the Red Badges of Courage! A single mom refusing to destroy her life just for a chance at corporate success? Reading poetry out loud in the college dining hall? and what did you come up with? Sounds like writers at work, here. Come back later and read... [Quick Start? Oh, we have only ourselves to blame for staring into the blank screen... There was no way that I was going to do it. Of course, that wags the tail in first person peculiar, but what else would you expect from a cheshire cat's smile?] word one? word two. word three...infinity. tink