Month: March 2020 | the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

March 15, 2020 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

‘Realities in Passing’
Phyllis: passing along Rt 1 Westerly in front of my office.
Me: viewing the world in captions.

Well, certainly has been interesting week. Trust all are weathering the currents of modern events on an even keel. There are countless words written on the benefits of spending time reflecting on those people, places and things that elicit the feeling of gratitude; from the Doctrine’s perspective the single most valuable aspect of such activity is that it allows us to link the positive elements in our worlds. The negative impulse, surely most exemplified by fear, links bad with ‘also-bad’ in our worlds. The problem is, for god-knows what reason, fear continues and links to the ‘not-so-bad’ and, left alone, it will link to, the ‘well,-if-you-look-at-it-that-way,-that-is-worse-than-I-thought’. All done without our necessarily seeing the linking process. Gratitude, fortunately, is also something that can be linked to other parts of our worlds.

Thanks, as always, to Kristi for keeping the lights on.

Lets get to the grats.

1) Una —————————————————-↓

2) Phyllis ————————–↑

3) the Book of Secret Rules (aka the Secret Book of Rules)

4) the Wakefield Doctrine because none of what you will find on this page would be likely without the benefit of the additional perspectives that the Wakefield Doctrine makes available. (‘ceptin the ‘Club Nouveau’ of course)

5) good health: pandemics notwithstanding, being healthy, or reasonably so, is not a bad thing.

6) good weather –↓————→————————————————↓

↵

7) the Hobbomock Chronicles Check back later today for Episode Ten

8) the Internet. cause… like, have you seen all the photos I’ve stuck in this post!? You may never come to our home, but you would recognize it if you did.

9) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE. Anyone wishing to try out the here bloghop here, this is the way to do it. Write a Grat Item. Send in as a Comment. I’ll post it right here. See your thoughts out there in the blogosphere.

10) Secret Rule 1.3. Because, as Heidegger would say, “Ach! du lieber! You’re almost finished with your list!”

music

TToT

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine, Understanding Human Behavior

Six Sentence Story -the Wakefield Doctrine-

March 11, 2020 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

This is a Six Sentence Story.

Because our host, Denise, has suggested a prompt word, what follows is a story, complete in six sentences.

(This week we return to the world of the Hobbomock Chronicles. Those following our serial story are familiar with the introduction to each Episode, ‘previously from the Hobbomock Chronicles‘. This little italic’d confection is offered as an insight that is not, necessarily, in the formal narrative. As the writer, it provides an opportunity to add a semi-invisible narrator to our tale.)

Prompt word:

Routine

Despite the cheerfully-patriotic bunting on the benches in the Commons on the 4th of July or agreeably-religious decorations mid-winter, the small New England town of Hobbomock had much in common with a person struggling to overcome chronic low self-esteem.

While therapeutic strategies abound, there exists a surprising consensus among mental health professionals as to baseline values when treating this condition; though not intended as such, lyricist Johnny Mercer wrote a song, during what is routinely considered the lowest point in the previous century, that best presents this treatment paradigm when he sang, ‘You got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.’

Although towns are not people, (in a sense), and certainly do not possess self-awareness, (for the most part), it’s not difficult to notice efforts to follow Mister Mercer’s advice; how else can a rational person account for organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce or the Daughters of the American Revolution?

It’s worth noting that, when a person is determined enough to overcome self-esteem issues, rigorous introspection often uncovers evidence of abuse; physical, sexual, emotional, (surely these categories are tragically redundant), all occurring beyond the patient (or town)’s conscious recollection.

These experiences are often buried safely, if not pathologically, under layers of fantasy and otherwise idealized history.

Not that a town could have a problem with low self-esteem; besides, even if something happened when it was just beginning to develop, that was then, this is now and the past was passed.

#theHobbomockChronicles #theWakefieldDoctrine

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: Six Sentence Story, the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine

March 7, 2020 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

This is Saturday and, with any luck, you’re reading our TToT post.* This is, of course, the grat ‘hop created by Lizzi, carried on by Josie and now in the most capable and caring hands of Kristi. (And her band of co-hosts: Mimi, Lisa, Pat, Dyanne and yours truly.)

As a Grat blog** the TToT offers experienced and new bloggers an opportunity to share the people, places and things that elicit the feeling of gratitude. And it does so with a variety of styles and approaches to the topic. For example, below is a list of things for which I am grateful.

1) Phyllis

2) Una

3) the Wakefield Doctrine. I’m grateful for it, in part, because it provides me with alternate perspectives on life, the world and the people who make it up. The Doctrine offers three distinct ways to see the world as we travel through it. As the Predator does, always alert to danger and fun, reaction times more easily mistaken for instinct and enough confidence to sell Christmas cards in August.*** Or, as does the Herd Member, like the woman in the car ahead, slowing down to walking-speed before turning in to the parking lot at the Stop n Shop. This is not simply ‘three ways to look at things’. This is three distinct ways to experience the world. As do clarks, scotts and rogers. And, as any reasonably evolved person can tell you, the more perspective, the better. The Doctrine reminds us that it’s all about how we relate ourselves to the world around us. We have that choice.

4) the Hobbomock Chronicles A serial story about the New England town of Hobbomock from it’s beginnings in 1665 down through the present day. Later in the weekend, Episode Nine will be out. Watch this space for a blue link. Better yet, go to the site and sign up to follow. That way you’ll get the link first!

5) this writing thing… ayiiee! Surely I could have picked another hobby/avocation/obsession less something than writing. Currently wrestling with the writing of the Hobbomock Chronicles. Don’t think I mentioned it last week,**** but I’ve pretty much decided I need to think of this as a series of stories/books. Those familiar with my writing know I have a penchant for following the story, as opposed to planning it. This is fun (and the only way I know), however, it lends itself to voluminous …err volumes. So, if what we’re currently reading is Book 1 of the Hobbomock Chronicles, I might have more success defining a character arc for our time-traveling real estate broker. In less than two hundred thousand words.(lol) The others, (the sleeping woman, Allyson Ross, Askuwheteau, Mayor Gardner will still be around when we return.)

6) work still permits me to wander about the countryside, drive by the ocean and try to project an aura of maturity and expertise in the buying and selling of real estate. (Item 3 above? What I just said about ‘work’? If you study the Wakefield Doctrine even a little, you’d totally have said, ‘Why to go, clark!’ And, with just a little more reading you’d be in a position to know that, when it comes to ‘success’ in the real estate business, the top producers: scottian females and rogerian males. Ever time.

7) the Winter this year! Although the true cost is surely higher than the people in the world apparently believe, for us in southern New England, this has been a winter without snow or excessive cold. nice (for me, probably not so nice for the high school class of 2036)

8) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE For anyone on the fence about participating in this here bloghop here. This is an opportunity to try it out, see if ya like it. Go ahead! A single Grat Item. Send it in down there in Comments and I’ll brush these words to the side and give you a set of quotes that’ll have you hearing your own voice every time you look at the screen.

9) something, something

10) Secret Rule 1.3 (from subchapter S; paragraphs: 43.sections a,r and 3): “…to even type Number 1 in an intended list of Items of Gratitude is something to be grateful for; this is not, however, that famous Wheat and Chessboard story. (Uh, Lizzi!! there’s a guy here trying to link 10¹⁰⁰⁰ Things of Thankful!! Whadda we tell ’em?”)

music (a note: funny thing about enjoying ‘live’ performances. I prefer non-professional almost always. No! wait. let me explain. It will shock no one out there that I don’t own a jacket with a sports team’s logo on the back, nor have I ever been heard to say, “I can’t wait until next season, we’ll (fill in the blank football, baseball, baskets ball team performed by athletes who are paid yearly salaries that exceed the amount of Medicaid going to the population of many small cities) show ’em!” That said, I smile when driving in my car and I turn to one of my college stations and realize it’s baseball season. This is not to say I don’t enjoy watching performance of sports or music at a highly skillful level. But non-professional has a certain charm. Especially the student announcers giving the play-by-play of a college baseball game. (You will never hear Phyllis say, “Clark? He’s in the den watching the Red Sox” This for two reasons: a) I don’t watch TV sports (‘ceptin maybe golf and a minute or two of bowling) and 2) we don’t have a den.

* maybe not ‘luck’ in the sense that your opportunity to read our post is akin to winning the lottery or getting the end piece at a dinner of prime beef, more it’s our luck that the world did not succeed in providing delays and excuses not to complete this week’s post on time.

** probably not a recognized category, but totally should be

*** a true example and evidence of my having a strong secondary scottian aspect… I was in 6th grade. Totally didn’t work. secondary scottian aspect, not predominant worldview,

**** no, seriously, ‘Way to write in the moment, clark!’ lol

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: the Wakefield Doctrine

Six Sentence Story -the Wakefield Doctrine-

March 4, 2020 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop.

Denise is the host.

The standard for stories utilizing the prompt word is six (and only six) sentence total length.

This week’s prompt word:

COAT

The truck stop might have enjoyed a Three Star rating from Michlen for the look on the young man’s face; the couple’s after-work breakfast passed in a blur of conversation that sounded, inside his head, like a combination of getting 800s on his SATs and summertime.

Leaving a tip that would take two days of overtime to balance, he looked up to see his companion already standing next to the chrome coat hook at the end of the red-vinyl booth; an avalanche of dark brown hair balanced on her shoulders and eyes that invited rather than rejected, brought back his inherent insecurity.

Standing, he took her coat from the chrome hanger and, recovering from a moment of unaccustomed joy, realized he held it open, easily two arm lengths from it’s owner; panic almost blocked the sight of a slightly raised eyebrow pulling the corner of the young woman’s mouth into a grin.

Taking a chance, which he would play and replay in his mind at moments when his memory insisted it had to have been someone else, he stepped forward.

He felt a growing confidence as she slid her right arm into the sleeve of the proffered coat, only to falter when, rather than pull the coat towards the other arm, she turned her body, slid her other arm in and leaned towards him; with the subtlest of shrugs, the young woman brought his hands, (of which he had little awareness), to rest lightly on her shoulders,

Her smile reordered his world in ways that would require years of life and decades of experiences to properly appreciate, as the new couple stepped into as new a day as he could have imagined.

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: relationships, self-development, self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

March 1, 2020 By clarkscottroger

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks,scotts and rogers)

A reminder of a season to come.

Thanks to Kristi, our host, for being here each and every weekend. Surely this is one of the longer-running bloghops in the ‘sphere.

Come join us, with your own post listing the people, places or things that cause you to feel grateful. Or, check out Item 8 which is, in a sense, an updated version of, “My god! It’s Opening Night and the lead has fallen down and broken an essential body part!! Can you go on in their place?! Only one line is necessary.”

A bit sparse this week, work interfered in that special way that work can, reminiscent of childhood admonitions, “Why sure, Clark. Stay home and write your post. Your clients will understand. Here, I’ll write you a note to give them. ‘Dear Clark’s client. Now I know you think you need to sell and/or buy a house today. But he has a post to write and can’t’.

1) Una ——————————————–↓