Embodiment

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"I've had the same jeans on for four days now,
I'm gonna go to a disco in the middle of the town,
Everybody's dressing up, I'm dressing down."
— Same Jeans, by The View

Two disco references, entirely unrelated. What does this have to do with anything? I sprained my ankle on the very day I sent my last newsletter, and then my foot became infected. So no dancing in November for me, ballet, disco or anything else. Rayna and I had tickets to see Peace at the student union bar a few days after the incident, and I was obliged to sit in the roped-off disabled section, foot lifted high above my hip, and the same socks on for four days.

I sprained my ankle on the day I sent my last newsletter. Yes. Not a coincidence, I think, more like synchronicity—an embodiment of my discontent. As a result I was way more focused in November than I had been in October.1 A little more humble too. Paradoxically, the fracture stabilised me. Over the course of the month I found my balance. I did what I could, and let go of what I could not. It gave me a chance to slow down, to be more reflective, to focus on what mattered. Facilitating my in-person Deconstruction workshop, and attending the Scrum Exchange in London, these things mattered, and I made sure I was mobile enough to do both. Family matters too, but that's always more of a challenge :( The pain in my foot kept me awake at nights, leaving my grumpy and irritable, but once I had established a better sleep pattern I was able to summon The Compassionator, my inner super-hero who listens, honours difference, and generally calms things down. I'd like to see more of that guy.

Those items you see in the photograph above, those are embodiments too. Nine embodiments of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development.2 Working in physical space, in a venue mostly used for photo shoots, surrounded by props and other objects that have nothing to do with the subject being studied, allowed for a metaphorical look at the world, and the subject under investigation. Such an approach allows unpredicted (and unpredictable) insights, opening up our eyes, and extending our vision. This picture cannot be explained, only interpreted, and without the context that led to this arrangement—private to those who created it—we can only interpret as voyeurs. Nevertheless, as a single viewing of Picasso's Bull's Head 3 inspired my sister Emily and I to come home and create art from found objects, so this picture may inspire others to embody the manifesto in their own way, to achieve a deeper insight, to strip away the imposed interpretations of others and reveal its true essence. In other words, to deconstruct.

Rayna and I returned to the Sheffield University student union bar yesterday to see The View, but mostly we watched the dedicated fans embody the music, each in his or her own unique way. I stood up for the whole show, and even moved to the beat—in different jeans! Not exactly dancing, but at least not sitting in the roped-off 'safe' area. Ankle on the mend, I am back in the flow of life again.

1 I wrote about my lack of focus in last month's newsletter, Seeing Red
2 The Manifesto for Agile Software Development is a document written in 2001. Designed to confront the corporate status quo, it quickly became absorbed by it, making it a tool of coercion and rendering the ideas impotent. By deconstructing the manifesto we uncover what is inherently described, and can thus reclaim it as a workers' manifesto, and reinstate it as a force for real change.
3 Bull's Head by Pablo Picasso, 1942

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November News

With Rayna being a full-time student now, we get to access student union events, as mentioned. We don't see much of one another during the week now, so have recommitted to a weekly date night, a regular reconnection. We alternate between live music, theatre, cinema, or just eating out, and perhaps walking if the weather allows. On the 14th November we celebrated twelve years since we first met. It's become our anniversary date, more significant than our actual wedding day, which was a decidedly low-key affair. We also try to take our daughters out to the theatre as much as possible. The last visit was rather a dud, but tonight we are going to see Noises Off, a classic and brilliant piece of farce-comedy. We are blessed to have two great theatres in Sheffield, with a good balance of classic and modern theatre, dance, musicals and of course a Christmas pantomime. We have tickets for that too :)

It's been freezing in the UK, constant rain for the first half of the month and sub-zero temperatures for the second. We've unpacked our winter clothes and await the snow. Cold as it is, I do love December. I think of it as the children's month: snow, sledging, snowmen, advent calendars, school holidays, nativity plays, carol singing, decorations, gifts and celebration.

"Of all the months of the year there is not a month one half so welcome to the young, or so full of happy associations, as the last month of the year." — Charles Dickens

Seasons greetings to all.
Tobias

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