#mpcers

[jparelladac-blog]

Farewell Mabe!

Today Mabe told us that she´s taking her next step towards exploring her passion and chasing her dream. She came by and read a very well written letter where she explained how our life is limited and we must take advantage of the short time we´ve got here and that´s exactly what she´s doing. As she spoke of this decision I felt sad but it shocked me to see how exciting it seems to really go after what you love. It seems a little obvious but it´s a thought I´ve had for quite some time and I had not realized how close my time may come to take this next step. (Not that I´m planning on leaving the program anytime soon, but 3 years, or actually 2 and a half years isn´t that much after all). It made me think of how I want to spend my life, what´s going to happen once I´m done with the MPC, what roads we´re all going to travel, all that there is still to learn and experience in life. It´s scary yet fascinating. Mabe was one of the greatest contributors to the program, it´s philosophy and the first steps. She was an example to all and I can only be thankful for having met her, she´s one of the most authentic and talented persons I´ve come to know. For me, Mabe has already succeeded. I wish her the very best of the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O4NOiOkxs8

[jparelladac-blog]

Culture Building

“If people are to coooperate (i.e., literally to “work together”) they have to be able to create something in common, something that takes the shape in their mutual discussions and actions, rather than something that is conveyed from one person who acts as an authority to the others, who act as passive instruments of this authority.”—David Bohm, On Dialogue 

Today in the morning we read this quote. One thing I'm learning is that things are NOT as simple as they seem. I think the design of my head exploding (you can see it in the heading of my blog) was inspired on the moment when we tried to define culture and institutions. I felt frustrated and confused as my paradigms started to shift. We even did some group work on it, actually, the first time I gathered with Alejo and Inés to do something. We struggled to establish how institutions (sets of rules) can exist without culture but culture can't exist without institutions since culture itself is an institution and a set of rules might exist (an institution) without being followed. Yes. It’s confusing but in the end even if we didn’t reach our “desired” conclusion we spoke about the importance of what a culture was and how such can be created and transformed. In the MPC we seek to construct a different culture than from our past experiences in academic environments, one of learning, thinking, sharing. We realize everyday that there’s a long way to go, but looking back to the time we’ve spent here I believe we’re starting to progress, and everyday I realize how important it is to actually HAVE such culture because then the desired behavior becomes something that occurs automatically (and eventually becomes part of you).