Keeping Doors Open: What is Means for Counselling

A common situation I come across in helping students with careers choices is the problem of making a decision. There are times when a student and his parents disagree. There are those students whose ideas of a career do not match their capabilities or personalities. But more often it is soemthing along the lines of, "I have no idea what I want to do. How do I choose?"

Tracking and Angelina Jolie

The family was away visiting in the city. It was an opportunity for me to rent a movie that I would enjoy and would not have to worry about the kids' or my wife's tastes. This usually means a movie with lots of action, pure excitement and escape - ism. I wandered the racks and found Wanted. I recalled the commercials and trailers. It also starred Angelina Jolie. I don't think I need to say more on that.

The movie gave everything it promised. I thoroughly enjoyed the action, the characters and the chance to just sit back and relax. By the end of the movie I had a large smile on my face.

The main character has a boring life. Angelina Jolie shows up, very similar to Morpheus in the Matrix, to show how he is actually part of a larger story. Wanted, Matrix, Star Wars (Episode IV), Men in Black, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  all portray characters finding themselves in a much bigger story than they expected. And they are an integral part of that larger story important to how it all ends, whether it is the good guys that win or the bad.

 

When Not To Take the Path

Orienteering is where a group learns how to use a compass and a map in order to find their way. When I have a chance to include orienteering in a set of activities for a retreat, I don't hesitate. The metaphor of the compass, the map and finding one's way through life is just too powerful. It is also a skill that is seems archaic and old world. It reminds me of threshing demonstrations at small town fairs. Our modern world with its marked streets, GPS devices and Google Earth has given most people the impression that they know exactly where they are.

Horses, Psychology and Teaching

I've just had a wonderful weekend. Perhaps I was motived because it was the last long weekend before school opened for another school year. I finally made a point to get out and go for a ride. I went for a short one (about an hour) on Saturday and Sunday each. Then, on Monday morning I was gone for a good three hours touring the river valley with a couple friends. I came back refreshed and feeling completely incompetent.

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