My eyes are tired. I’ve been up since 5:15am. I woke up right before my alarm was scheduled to shock me out of bed for the weekly Toastmasters meeting. It’s weird when that happens almost as if part of your brain was busy watching the clock. I’m glad I’ve stuck with going even though I’ve belly-ached to the woman about having to be there so early in the morning to talk in front of people I barely know. The people I meet in Toastmasters are from many different walks of life and not people I would have met on my own. I like that about it. I also like that most of the regular people show up even though no one makes them. They have plenty of other things to keep them busy: families, careers, businesses. It shows a great deal of committment both to their decision to be a member as well as their committment to their fellows. These are people who welcome involvement and responsibility. I find that incredibly impressive. So much so that I feel guilty when I feel like quitting because I get uncomfortable extending myself in new directions each week. I’ve decided that it is a worthwhile type of discomfort, although I still get butterflies every time I have to do something else.
I take a lot of things for granted, like how most people are very different from me. I get self-centered from spending so much time by myself and in the same environments that I forget about the whole range and variety of life represented in other people. People have very different assumptions and views on fundamental things, and yet here we are, able to communicate with each other because we respect that difference. That is what society is all about. Allowing room for difference out of consideration for our neighbor.
There is a guy in the group who always sticks out to me because of his self-effacing yet quietly confident personality. He is the kind of guy everyone else follows without knowing why. He just has that quality that communicates competence and honesty without guile or ego. Sometimes I find myself watching him to learn something. He said something this morning about how we were all born with one mouth and two ears and if we used these senses in that proportion the world would be a better place. This is undeniably true. It’s also something I need to work on. It seems like everyone is so hungry to express themselves that there are few people left to sit and listen. What is so important to express? Where does this desire to be heard and acknowledged come from? What can we do to be better listeners?
Greetings fellow TM. Man, I miss my meetings. Although Danny is thoroughly convinced it is a cult, I really loved it. Part of the attraction was that at least three of my good friends were in my club and were also fellow officers. I’ve been meaning to find a new club but it is a big commitment especially if you want to give speeches regularly. I commend you on the early morning meetings. My meetings never started before noon and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Hey Sarah,
You should find a club nearby and pick it up again, especially since you like giving speeches! If for no other reason than you may make some new friends in SFO. The early morning meetings work pretty well for me since I normally have trouble getting started in the morning. That’s the reason I chose mornings anyway, because I wanted a reason to get up earlier. Jody and I were just talking about taking a trip to SFO and points west in the fall and dropping by to see you and Breen. I think that would be a lot of fun.
wow, you’ve totally made me think that I should look into TM. (I’m a long-time lurker, first-time commenter) I totally want to be like that guy in your group… self-effacing but quietly confident. Thanks for the great blog!
It’s funny, but I think the thing he does that works the best is sincerely paying attention to other people and keeping his mouth shut until he has something worthwhile to say.
“SFO” as in San Francisco? Do tell..
Yeah, you gonna be around? I tried calling you when you were in Austin, but you never returned my two phone calls. *cough*