Communication – The Needs’ Year (Week 39)
The break was over and not a single participant was back in the working room. I was an assistant at an NVC workshop and I impatiently looked at the watch and wanted to continue the course. After a short while, I stood in the doorway and whistled. Immediately people...
Contribution – The Needs’ Year (Week 38)
About ten years ago I was an assistant during a Nonviolent Communication course for the first time. I spent a weekend in Tollare Folkhögskola (a school for grown-ups) with my teacher Kay Rung. It was fun, exciting and a great experience. While I could contribute in...
Inspiration – The Needs’ Year (Week 37)
The day before yesterday I got married! After the wedding ceremony and partying all night I was dead tired. All of Sunday was spent eating leftovers and resting. Visiting party guests came over for brunch while waiting for buses and trains back home. Later I took a...
Fairness – The Needs’ Year (Week 36)
During my first year-long training course in Nonviolent Communication (NVC), all participants went through a social experiment. During one of our lunches, we were divided into three groups. The biggest group received a simple meal consisting of rice and beans. I was...
Challenge – The Needs’ Year (Week 35)
I stood on the top and looked down. It was so steep that I couldn’t see the end of the ski slope. For a couple of minutes I mustered up the courage and then I headed downhill. I zigzagged down at increasing speed. Suddenly, I fell over and landed on my back,...
Clarity – The Needs’ Year (Week 34)
I’m desperately trying to change the language on the computer. Everything is in Polish and I don’t understand anything! I call Magda for the fifteenth time and ask her to help me translate some commands, so I can perform the most basic tasks. I feel stressed,...
Learning – The Needs’ Year (Week 33)
Inevitably, my eyes are drawn to the bookshelf. I scan titles and my eyes become fixed on a yellow book with the title “The Culture Map”. I ask my host, Paulina, if the book is good and if she recommends it. “Do you want to borrow it?” she asks and I’m not...
Sexual Expression – The Needs’ Year (Week 32)
My abdomen and legs began to tremble in convulsions. It was as if I were receiving jolts of electricity through my limbs. It was a pulsating sensation that multiplied through my body. I thought I was going to explode, so I immediately stopped what I was doing....