May there be light and lightness

Hello and Happy New Year!

I was away over the holidays. It was refreshing to meet some old and new friends, and now I’m back - full of energy which should last me until 10pm, at least.
 
Tomorrow is a new day, and if I want, a new year! What's a number? I love the fact, that I can restart the count at any time.  Just because I wake up cranky and with a grudge, I don’t have to hold on to it. It’s a choice. Every day. Every moment. To me that’s priceless freedom – having a choice of attitude and perspective. 
 
Any plans for 2023?
My plan for this year is to care even less about what others think of me. I don’t mean a resentful and roaring “I don’t give a f***!”, but rather a quiet, gentle, dumdidum-doobedoo, “I feel what’s right and I do it too.” 
 
I will continue writing my book, a process I started during the first Covid spring. It’s based on my master’s thesis and looks on the effects of growing up with alcoholism (and recovering from it) through the lens of adult education and lifelong learning, from a biographical learning perspective. 
 
Biographical learning theory assumes that our life history corresponds to our learning history and vice versa. Fun fact: Thanks to neuroplasticity we are capable of learning all our lives. Forget about “I’m too old”. We are never too old to learn, whether we do, is our choice.
Or is it?

Hands up, who likes change?
What, if, and how we learn as adults depends a lot on our learning and life experiences during our childhood and youth. Back then we developed the patterns of interpretation and behaviour that formed our perspectives and attitudes, which inform our choices in life.

Whether we grew up in alcoholic families or not, most of us don’t question those patterns. As adults we use them on autopilot and re-create what we have learned in our families - the familiar. Day in-day out, we do the same things, think the same thoughts. Who likes to change?  

There is nothing wrong with re-creating what is useful to us, our lives, the lives of others, and yes, let’s think big, the world! But, not only because of alcohol-, but other forms of ism, many re-create realities that are based on templates of pain, shame, guilt, and fear. Those states of mind are not only unhealthy on every level, they are also not conducive to  learning. 

​The power of Crisis
In adult education, critical events (cognitive and/or emotional irritations) are regarded as catalysts for starting learning processes in adults. 
​If big enough, crisis can lead to a sustainable transformation of cognitive and emotional schemata and perspectives, and contribute to re- structuring our biography.

Wherever you go, there you are.
Let's face it, the world is on fire. Crises, wherever you look. Who wouldn't want to escape?
But escapism is just another ism. 
Crisis is an individual experience, and it might take a while, before the pain threshold is reached. But once it is, crisis can change our personal story as well as our perspective and attitude towards the crisis, and life on the whole.

So, the book in a nutshell
People get into recovery because of personal crises. In recovery they learn new patterns of interpretation and behaviour. 
Q: How are learning and educational processes, and as a result, personal and professional biographies affected by growing up with alcohol(ism)? 
A: A lot!
Q: What can we learn from those who learned new patterns of interpretation and behaviour as a result of a personal crisis?
A: A lot! 
 
If you are interested in finding out more, let me know or stay tuned. 

​Have a wonderful day,
Pia