I love this quote: “Meaning is what you end up with, not what you start out with.” – Peter Elbow
Videos from movement teachers, fitness Youtubers, therapists, How-To tutorials…, they seem to fall into the same category as videos from watchmakers and people who fix and repair things. Teenagers who just start out but are already well versed, or professionals who have been setting up and fixing (for example) terrariums for 30 years already. You have this question? This is the answer. Here you go.
However, I find myself to live and work and function a bit differently than, say, a Omega Seamaster wrist watch. That’s why I like Peter Elbow’s quote so much. My approach (is it an “approach” what I’m doing?) is different. I experiment, I try, I observe, I improve, I try again, I rest, I forget, I remember…
“Experience, knowledge, wisdom and meaning is what we end up with, not what we start out with”, to expand on Peter Elbow’s findings. Instead of feeding my students the distillate of my life’s experiences, I take them on a journey of their own. I might even use this as my professional motto, it seems most fitting.