Archive for November, 2014

Main idea: In life, we search for things and if we are narrowly focused at the time, we pass by many things without much notice if any at all. This exercise is intended to encourage reflection when our mind is searching for something. It is intended to touch on times of failure/emptiness, distraction, incidents and success/goal-reaching.

This exercise involves placing items in the pockets of a piece of clothing – the more pockets and more types of pockets (front, back, zippered, etc), the better. Another person is told to find a particular item which is in one of the pockets. For each pocket searched, the second person must take a moment to capture their feelings/emotions. The range of results could be:

(1) finding the item on the first look…was this luck or fate? What might happen when you try again with another piece of clothing? Could you repeat the success on the first try?

(2) the item in the pocket searched was not the item being sought after…how do you value the item that was found? Do you disregard it and keep looking for the item you are supposed to find? Or do you think about how it might be useful in another context? Or do you think about changing what you want to search for?

(3) finding the item after looking through two or more pockets…do you feel validated? Did you feel that maintaining hope was at your core? Did you become more or less optimistic with each pocket you had to search? What satisfaction did you feel when you found the item? Do you remember the moment you found the item or the sequence of moments that led up to the discovery?

(4) finding nothing in the pocket (empty pocket)…is there a feeling of hope because you eliminated one of the pockets or is there a feeling of emptiness? How eager are you to move on the next pocket? How is your positive mindset?

Since this is still in the experimental design stage, expect there to be better ways to tie in with the YCISL program. At this point, it seems that this activity provides a framework onto which we can attach a variety of life lesson reflective questions. Note to self: establish positive mindset before starting the activity.

Material list:

One article of clothing with many pockets (e.g., jacket, five-pocket jeans especially with zippered pockets)
Assortment of articles (the more obtuse, the better for diversion purposes)
Journal for reflection