It’s personal and yet it is not
Digesting Manchester
by Writing the Undercurrent
Tine van Wijk
Writing the undercurrent is listening to my inner voice, while looking,
listening and sensing what is happening around me. Being in Manchester
is like being in a house I have been building for seven years and can
o nly
writing, reading, feeling, anticipating, organizing, feeling responsible and hoping
it will all lead to a top experience of being together with colleagues who can see
and hear me and each other in a contact full way.
To recognize and admit this deep longing makes me vulnerable. Longing for contact
is of course what has been driving me for as long as I remember.
Again and again I found fields where I felt invited to open up and show my inside out.
And always there was a moment that I decided I had to close myself off as the field had
become too dangerous and threatening to be my creative self.
So far the field of the AAGT has brought me enough support to trust that
I am allowed to open my mouth without being rejected, enough support to
show what I have professionally to offer. Although my proposal for a workshop was rejected.
That is why I am more on my guard this time. I have to face the fact
that the value of what I wanted to offer was not recognized in this case,
but people did register fort my pre conference creative marathon and that stimulated me.
Is it true that my expectations of Gestalt conferences
don’t match the reality? In Manchester
I often became irritated, felt painfully rejected and isolated, was a few times ready to leave the conference and had of course
top experiences I would not have wanted to miss for anything in the world.
In the report that follows I wave together what I experienced then and what I became aware of while typing my handwritten notes out and integrate the two. Of course I hope I will tell you something new, but we will o nl
Let’s enjoy the journey, no matter what.
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