You might as well...

Each year at the Friday Harbor Residential, a theme seems to emerge from the work.  A few years ago, it was the “pink elephant”.  ( i.e. If you don’t want to think of a pink elephant, you need to think something else.)

This year’s phrase emerged when one of the participants echoed something that she had heard me saying several times – “you might as well think of the Alexander Technique….” I found out how deeply “you might as well” is in my process – I found out that I say it a lot. By the end of the residential, it became a whole group refrain.

I do remember as I was learning the Alexander Technique that I did consciously develop the idea. I had a day job at a bank – it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life, and I thought I might as well use the Alexander Technique as I did it.   I know I think that in lines at airports and when I am in the dentist chair too – I might as well play with what I know.

One day someone told Marjorie Barstow that she was bored.  In one of her seemingly enigmatic responses, she said “I don’t know what that is.”  Perhaps “might as well” was part of her process too – using the Alexander Technique can bring interest/inquiry, and perhaps amusement,  to all moments.

(The picture is from one of my morning walks before the fog lifted.)

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