Evidence of engagement
Here is a Think and Listen I did with a Gaia U associate and it was roughly 15 minutes total, this was the layout:
What is going well in your life? (3 minutes)
What is challenging? (3 minutes)
What are your long term goals and visions? (6 minutes)
What are your next acheivable steps towards these goals? (3 minutes)
A:
Everything! Time and focus to achieve things. Expand knowledge on re-evaluation counseling. Stumped by what is permaculture?? Land/social restoration/regeneration.
No personal vehicle, reliable way to get around is challenging. At times phone is in no service, or not functioning. With all the time and focus it's important to stay healthy-tend to let it fall away when there is too much attention elsewhere.
Wants to keep an eye on hate street, the rich are buying it out. Maybe be an anthropologist? Continue to take courses and readings on RC.
Contact Jorge for honduras. Look into taking PDC in hawaii- how to implement it in Tennessee?
J:
Moved, found a new job, and having time for school and a place to build community and do projects. Keeping connected with my previous job for opportunities.
No longer a challenge but up until this friday I lived where I had no cell phone service/poor internet which made the conference calls and other gaia work a challenge. But like I said in what's going well is I just moved so it should no longer be an issue. Also, I was working 40+ hours a week and just moved down to part time 8-10 hours a week which should help with time and attention for school. Another challenge would be lack of community so far.
I would like to get my own place to work on some urban permaculture projects/ create a hub for community. Sort of like a community center or I would like to have an outdoor learning center. My passion is to involve children with permaculture and how to digest permaculture in a way that the masses can articulate.
I am committed to the area I am currently until May though, so finding places I can actively install permaculture projects would be ideal. Until I can finally move and get my own place. Continue to network.
Managing and tracking your progress
I will track my un/learning pathways progress by setting goals and deadlines for myself. I will then revisit each goal/deadline before, during and after the process. This way I can either eliminate it if I no longer see it fit or continue on with it and designate what skills I want to un/learn from the task.
So far I have chosen 5-6 outputs for my pre-capstone phase year. They are all surrounding education in some sense. My job is currently within an Education system that I would like to learn more about called, Reggio Emelia. As I learn more about this approach towards teaching I would like to document it in my OP's. I do not think I will need to take a pause for my Gaia U work as my schedule seems to fit hand in hand with my work schedule. Also, my work seems to support my Gaia U work and seems like a container where I can utilize some of my project ideas as the year progresses.
I have decided on the following design process for my OP's based on the overlay of my current job, seasons and location.
A final reflection/conclusion
I value this OP for many reasons. First, it is a huge reinforcer for my organization skills. I say this because of mahara being a database where I can put my goals and next actionable steps and then check them off once they're completed. Secondly, reading through other associates work has been motivational in my own process as well as establish some people who could be interesting to collaborate with. Next, it has all been exciting to rekindle some of my ideas that I had maybe forgotten about over the past few busy months with work. It was rejuvenating that my school work ties hand in hand with my passions, which ultimately is something that I value.
I also realized during this OP that I am a little disappointed that I can no longer attend any of the Gaia orientation cycle calls anymore due to my work schedule. I definitely enjoyed the breakout sessions and talking with my other associates. I hope to hold myself accountable for think and listens with classmates and local allies for future times when I am needing to be heard. Overall, I thought this OP flowed really naturally for me and I learned that if I have the attention for something that I am really capable of doing it. Talk about empowerment!
As for next actionable steps, I will finish the OP self-evaluation form in the next hour and submit my OP for peer review. Then, I will add my Journal entries into my OP1a and post my pro-review in that OP as well. I will also attend a workshop this weekend where I plan to document it with videos and notes for my next OP Teaching with Intention.