Every language contains its own set of focal vocabularies, that is to say, a set a specialized words to describe — with great precision — the sorts of things that the culture considers important enough to elaborate upon.  The old myth about “eskimos having words for snow” would be good example of this concept, were it not factually incorrect… at least compared to English, which has a flurry of its own flakey variants (hmmm… anyone know how many words for snow there are in Classical Arabic, or maybe the Saharan languages?)   Typically, the economic activities of a given group of people will cause that group to generate large quantities of specialized words pertaining to their field of practice. For example, software programmers have their own vocabulary, as do lawyers, architects, herdsmen, dairy farmers, etc.  However, outside of the area of expertise, such an expanded focal vocabulary does not typically serve much purpose (despite my belief that there are no true synonyms).

Then, once in a while, along comes a culture with certain peculiarities which — eureka! — cause it to generate a single, unique term that delightfully captures some phenomenon or aspect of the human condition.

For example, Schadenfreude (delight in another person’s misfortune) and L’esprit d’escalier (coming up with a witty comeback too late, after the conversation), are words that perhaps only the Germans and the French could have come up with, and yet, these words have a certain  je-ne-sais-quoi universal appeal (..and yes, I’m still on the lookout for a language that has deemed it important enough to describe The DANdelion™ Effect.).

There is great pleasure in discovering that particular, seul mot juste, for that thing which you never knew had a name.

What is Shinrin-yoku ?

Thanks to Mysending’s blog, I recently learned about a Japanese term — Shinrin-yoku – which describes a favorite pastime, which is immersing myself in a heady botanical space, the more Dagobah-like, the better.

I started doing this as a kid, and I still do it today, especially when I feel trapped in a harsh urban or edge-city environment.

It’s a simple, three-step process:

Step One: Recognize the Stress Signs

I’m stuck in rush-hour traffic, somewhere in the outskirts of Tampa, Florida, right after a thunderstorm in the late afternoon, on a six-lane road surrounding by fast-food chains, strip malls and automobile dealerships. My cellphone connection is spotty, I’ve just completed a tense and counter-productive conference call with a client and I have a wee bit too much caffeine in my system. Hot mess.  The air outside is a torrid mixture of humidity and vehicle exhaust, and the air circulating in my cheap rental car is frigid and stale, with notes of artificially-scented deoderizer.

The sun is setting, casting an angry yellow glow through the smog.

A double rainbow is forming overhead, between the visual pollution of telephone wires and traffic signals.

I want out.

Step Two: Find a Green Patch

I open up my GPS-enabled map and note that it indicates a large patch of green on it, not far from where I am.  That’s what I usually do: Find a wide expanse of green on the map, preferably surrounding some irregularly shaped patches of blue, with the words “conservation land” or “state park” or “national forest” near it.

In this case the words are unfamiliar – “Lettuce Lake” — but the shape of the green and blue blobs on the map look promising. Also, I have a heavenly sign: One end of the rainbow happens to be pointing right in the direction of where I want to go.

Step Three: Soak In It, Soak It In

By the time I arrive, the park ranger tells me there’s only 15 minutes before the park closes (at dusk… apparently that’s when the alligators and coyotes start their wild rumpus) and that it might not be worth the entry fee.

It’s worth it.

Sometimes, all you need is 15 minutes.

Too much polution? Seek the Phytoncide Solution

Here’s a description of Shinrin-yoku and its health benefits: 

Forest bathing

(source.  http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/photos/7-odd-natural-ways-to-boost-your-health/forest-bathing  )

(cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_bathing )

For the even more scientifically-minded, read the pubmed article, “Trends in research related to “Shinrin-yoku” (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing) in Japan,” by Y. Tsunetsugu, B.J. Park, and Y. Miyazaki  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19585091), which is a meta-study of research on the physiological effects of forest environments (or isolated elements of those environments, e.g. cedar wood, running water, foliage) on the different senses, e.g. visual, auditory, olfactory, and  tactile.

In any case, if you’re fortunate enough to live in a climate and location that has large, immersive forests and wetlands, you now have one more “scientifically proven” reason to feel lucky.

But what if you’re an urban dweller?

What if you’re surrounded high-rise towers, mid-rise walk-ups and/or low-rise wastelands of never-ending concrete, metal and plastic?

What if your city is Montreal, Canada?

What if you live in a place where one-third of the year resembles a cold, dry, flash-frozen asphalt tundra? ..where the air around you does not provide anything in the way of phytoncides… but rather, acts like a Dementor, sucking all the heat and moisture right out of your nose?

Best Places for Shinrin-yoku, in Cold Cities

Most major cities have a botanical garden… and within that botanical garden, a glass-enclosed microclimate such as a greenhouse, palm house, or if you can get one, a fern house.  These are the places to go to, in order to get your shinrin-yoku fix.  I’ve made a habit of checking in to these spots when visiting a city, when times allows for it.

Here are some instances of urban shinrin-yoku that I’ve enjoyed over the years — some of these are well-known attractions, some of these are lesser-known local spots:

The Montreal Biodome – check out the simulated rainforest environment, trees, flowers, monkeys, the whole nine yards…. used to be a bicycle racetrack

The IBM Building – in Montreal at 1250 René-Lévesque: atrium of soaring bamboo against backdrop of miserable grey slushy roadways… ’nuff said

Allan Gardens — in Toronto, palm house FTW

Cloud Forest Conservatory — a postage-stamp-sized refuge in the heart of downtown Toronto

Kew Gardens — a giant of London, max humidity to be found in the Water Lily House

Class of 1959 Chapel — at Harvard Business School, another small refuge  in a cold, cold place… waterfalls, papyrus plants and koi fish provide healing for the non-denominational soul…   the interior courtyard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is nice too, if you like a more Mediterranean environment

San Antonio Botanical Garden — well, not exactly a cold city, but it includes one of the best conservatories, complete with a steamy fern house

The Eden Project is still on my bucket list.

Where else?

The glass is undervalued by at least half of its potential value. Buy it at its current discount. Top it off with some tap water. Brand it. Package it. Resell it.  Win.

Here is an image summarizing this as a General Theorem of Glasses-of-Water-with-Unrealized-Potential:

This theory also explains the “it only really matters if you’re thirsty / it’s needed” observation, made elsewhere, while also allowing for the effects of advertising and packaging on demand. Sometimes people enjoy glasses of water because it’s the cool thing to do.

Finally:  The glass is 100% full of metaphor: Be the glass and fulfill your potential.

Add your comments, votes or opinions on this most importunate matter, here:

http://www.quora.com/Is-this-glass-half-empty-or-half-full/answer/Dan-Spira?__snids__=39871696

If you maximize your schedule and fill every bit of programmable space with destinations (aka “Goals”), you will have no time left to venture off, explore, to learn, to stop and smell the proverbial roses.

You will have achieved full efficiency in your schedule of waking hours, however you will be eroding your long term competitive edge, which is your ability to think creatively and to innovate… because those things require serendipitous discovery as their creative fuel.

Most significantly, a fully maximized schedule will reduce your ability to take on brilliant opportunities as they arise. Some of best opportunities are the ones you don’t plan for, so you need some room to be able to say “yes” to the unexpected.

Finally, too much fixation on a singular goal reduces your ability to get lucky… tunnel vision comes at the  expense of peripheral vision.

Some solutions for highly programmed individuals:

• Plan gaps in your busy schedule, gaps to explore the territory between Point A and B.
• Plan regular moments of rest… or even a weekly Day of Rest.
• Do something “inefficiently,” so that you can be open to discovering a better way to do it… or better things to do.

What other strategies do you use, so that you can make time for discovery?

Waste some time well, so that the time you spend working is not wasted.

re: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_(mind_game)

(ht SMG)

(ht David Gebler)

There is an old tradition that describes how all times, there are thirty-six very special people in the world.  According to this tradition, it is thanks to these people — these righteous souls — that the world keeps going. The thing is, we don’t know who they are. They live anonymously and in the most humble of circumstances.  Their sacred role is concealed from the entire world, including themselves.

As a consultant, sometimes I like to pretend that I’m a “change agent,” what with my all special training, elaborate models, juggling balls and other fancy props.  In reality, it doesn’t take much to be an agent of positive change.

Sometimes, a well-placed penny — or even a well-placed smile — will do the trick.

“I wish there was a ‘Dislike’ button for this.” 

That statement has become almost a cliché on Facebook comment threads.

Yet, in the years since introducing the “Like” button (and having at least one baby named after it), Facebook Inc. has resisted making that move, sticking with its unidirectional vector, a powerful postive stroking mechanism that has addicted hundreds of millions of people. The market capitalization of that addiction –as Facebook goes public this month —  is estimated at $100 billion.

What’s ‘Like’ Got to Do With It?

According their SEC filing this past Wednesday, Facebook’s 845 million active monthly users generated an average of 2.7 billion Likes and Comments per day during the three months ended December 31, 2011.   In addition to last week’s SEC filing, on Friday the Pew Internet and American Life Project released a research report about Facebook, with the overarching message that Facebook users “get more than they give,” which is an unsurprising finding in a micro-economy of positive reciprocation.

Facebook Inc.’s mission statement is “To make the world more open and connected,” and in order to do this, it has developed a toolkit of psychological triggers that get its users sharing their thoughts, feelings, opinions, whereabouts and other personal data in exchange for the creepy feeling of being watched by a machine and its targeted advertisements.

As Facebook grows and runs the treadmill of Wall St. earnings reports, it will need to continue to build ways to engage its users, which ultimately means finding more ways for them to engage with each other and share as much of themselves as possible.

Taking it to the Next Level

“I wish there was a ‘Like’ for your ‘Like.”

Ah, another emerging Facebook cliché, aka,  “I want to reciprocate the stroke you have given me,” aka, “thank you for your life-saving kindness.”

I think it’s a good thing Facebook has resisted the thumbs up/down mechanism used by other websites. Facebook’s ’Like’ is not about voting and ranking things… most of the time.  The main purpose of having the ‘Like’ alone, with no ‘Dislike’ alternative, is to keep things cheerful, to keep people coming back for more.  If you want to hate on someone, or even commiserate with someone, you’ve got to do it in a written comment. If you’re not willing to make the effort of typing, Facebook only allows for positive expressions of recognition.

That’s why I think Facebook should add a ‘Love’ button.

You see, Facebook has already well on its way to achieving its mission of warm-and-fuzzy world domination.

Step One was:  Get them addicted to cheap and easy social validation.

Step Two should be:  Spread more love.

There isn’t enough love in the world, and Facebook could be the catalyst for improving on that.  Yes, some users may indiscriminately upgrade all of their ’Likes’ to ‘Loves,” and that would say something about their temperament… but what’s the problem with that?  Why should these passionate souls have their hearts bleed out in a lukewarm bath of ‘Like’ness?  Give them the heat they desire.  For the rest of us, we can reserve that extra little bit of ‘Love’  juice for special moments.

Two levels: ’Like’ and ‘Love.’

Above that, then yes, you’ve gotta bother to write something in the comments.

Something like, “OMG LOLOLOLOL”

POSTSCRIPT:

aha, someone’s already done it… “The Love Button” browser plug-in by Malcolm Randall… kind of like rose tinted glasses for Facebook that you can choose to wear:

http://themalchemist.com/lovebutton/   and  http://www.facebook.com/presslove#!/presslove?sk=info

..and as I think about it some more, could it be that Facebook has changed since its carefree days of youth? Perhaps what the cautionary tale of ‘Poke’ (and its jump-the-shark app alternative, ‘SuperPoke’) teaches us is that the exchange of love is not a core function of Facebook?

Within a mere seven days this “Every Presentation Ever: Communication FAIL” video has garnered over 178,000 views — that’s good publicity for an organization that does good work. It’s easy to understand why people like this video… what’s a bit harder to understand is why two of my friends have already tagged me with it (HT DavidC and GilY).  It may mean that my friends know what I do for a living… and/or it may mean they know that I sometimes preface my prefaces with a preface.

What I like about this video, apart from its painfully-true-to-life humor, is its high level of craft in the details.  Not every gag is pointed out, not every joke verbalized… it invites you to take a closer look and discover things on your own… and that’s exactly what makes for a good presentation.  Am I over-thinking it? Sure, why not. The video wins because it calls out the bad behavior without modeling it.

Looking for something simpler but also funny?  (Oh you weren’t? Well here it is anyway.)  Here’s a classic bit by Don McMillan called “Life After Death by PowerPoint:”

http://www.quora.com/Is-it-really-possible-to-think-too-much

…and this….

So now, thanks to this course I’m taking, McLuhan has come back to me after all these years and is reminding me that, “we shape our tools (instructional materials), and thereafter our tools (instructional materials) shape us.”

I also enjoyed hearing McLuhan the Prophet’s words again in the year 2011, now in our Age of Facebook and Twitter.  Check out these little gems:

“There ain’t no grammatical errors in a non-literate society.”

“Publication is a self-invasion of privacy.”

“The older, traditional ideas of private isolated thoughts and actions are patterns of mechanistic technology are very seriously threatened by new patterns of instantaneous electric information retrieval, by the electrically computerized  dossier, that one big gossip column that is unforgiving and unforgetful and for which no redemption and no erasure of our mistakes.”

“Our is a brand new world of all-at-onceness. Time has ceased. Space has vanished. We now live in a global village of simultaneous happening. We’re back in acoustic space. We have begun again to structure the primordial feeling, the tribal emotions from which a few centuries of literacy have divorced us. The tribalizing process, the inner trip, the depth involvement in the experience of the unified human family, that is something of which we’ve had no experience for many centuries.  It is a process that is located so entirely in the present that it does not appear at all in the rear-view mirror to which we habitually look to for reassurance and nostalgic orientation. Joyce called it all space in a naught shell, a naught shell being an eternal present.”

Of course there is also McLuhan the Educator whose words are even more pertinent to me now, than ever before:

“Training will be more concerned with training the senses and perceptions, than with stuffing brains. “

and

“Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn’t know the first thing about either.”

Of course, I found the greatest pleasure and comfort in the words of McLuhan the Generalist… or at least, the McLuhan Anti-Specialist:

“Where the whole man is involved there is no work. Work begins with the division of labor.”

“The specialist is one who never makes small mistakes while moving toward the grand fallacy.”

“The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.”

Bringing it all together, we can cap it off with two more McLuhanisms:

“The trouble with a cheap, specialized education is that you never stop paying for it.”

..and…

“When this circuit learns your job, what are you going to do?”

Good question, Marshall.

Well, we’re officially at peak Decorative Gourd Season, so I think I’m going to start inserting random decorative gourds at the bottom of my work emails. 

Things like this…

Think that might start an email signature trend?  

..or how about this one…

..or we go with the more artsy look…

..then there’s the Martha Stewart Real-Ladies-of-Connecticut-Use-Power-Tools-on-their-Gourds aesthetic…

Of course, a more representative example of the American aesthetic this time of year would be this:

..and while we’re doing interpretative aesthetics and still life / floral arrangements, let’s round-off this little photo-essay with a little  kawaii  take on the whole autumnal-gourdy-display-thing…

So please, please, consider the work environment before modifying your email signature, adding trite clip art and rendering your name in a “script” font, followed by an overwrought quotation and a lengthy legal disclaimer.

Seasonally yours,

Dan