Groucho Marx said that he would never belong to a club that would have him as a member. 

I want to belong to his club!

One of my favourite books is "Teaching as a subversive activity" by Neil Postman. A bold look at our sadly ineffective "education" system.

Normality and compliance - fitting in with the crowd - is so seductive.

I remember a story about a man who had foreknowledge that the well in the village was going to become contaminated so that anyone who drank it would have hallucinations. He gathered a large volume of the uncontaminated water - enough to last him for years - but after only a few weeks he couldn't stand it any longer and felt compelled to drink the contaminated water.

There's nothing wrong with going along with some things. Rebelling against everything would lead to exhaustion and misery. But going along with everything would lead to a zombie existence devoid of liveliness.

One of the attractions of Erickson's work to me is the way it doesn't fit in with the "proper" way that therapy "should be". But if it were ever to become mainstream, I'd be looking elsewhere.

If you were to look at any discontent in your life, do you notice anything that you are going along with? Anything that doesn't feel right to you? What is the cost to you in your liveliness and satisfaction? Is it worth it?

If you were to look at times when you haven't gone along with something that didn't feel right to you? Any regrets?

My invitation is to play with these ideas and questions, and see what new possibilities appear.

Let the learning continue ...

Rob McNeilly