We loved a recent Walkshop participant’s write-up of Street Wisdom on LinkedIn and asked Tom if we could include it here for Street Wisdom friends and family to enjoy too. Thanks Tom!
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy a copy of founder David Pearl’s book Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
Hey you guys.
Yes you guys, the two sticky-outty bits down the bottom there.
Hello!
Wiggle, wiggle.
Yes, you.
Just wanted to say Thank you.
Thank you for doing what you do everyday, without thinking about it (literally), without expecting any thanks in return. It’s quite a task you’ve got yourself there.
After all, you get all the rest of us up here to all the places we want to go.
Like the other day, Head and Mouth wanted to go to that meeting to look and sound good. Later that night, Heart wanted to go to the cinema to meet a friend and have a laugh. And Hands just wanted to play ball (once a week, Wednesday afternoons)!
You just do your thing, step by step, each day, without expecting a word of thanks or gratitude or appreciation in return.
It’s mind-blowing.
Well, today, we appreciate you for it.
And today, we want YOU to lead the way.
Yes, YOU. You’re always doing what we want to do. What do YOU want to do today?
Take us where YOU want to go.
Ignore the rest of us, just for today at least.
Wherever you want to wander, we’ll be right behind you (well, on top of you but…)
There’s a lot of wisdom in you guys! We just know you’ll know where to go.
OK?
Let’s go…
(And thank you again.)
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy your own copy of Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
Thanks to rawpixel for the gorgeous picture!
If you don’t know it, and it’s likely you do know it, but if you don’t know it yet, try the nine dot problem.
The puzzle is to connect the nine dots above using only four lines, without lifting your pen.
Give it a go – the answer is below so no peeking!
Why are we thinking about the nine dot problem?
The solution is fascinating.
Or the best well-known solution, at any rate.
See below!
Did you get to it yourself?
Once you realise that the nine dots problem is less about the nine dots and more about how you perceive the ‘problem’, you realise you can literally (and this is where the phrase originally came from) “think outside the box”.
As Norman Vincent Peale wrote in 1969
That puzzle represents the way a lot of people think. They get caught up inside the box of their own lives. You’ve got to approach any problem objectively. Stand back and see it for exactly what it is. From a little distance, you can see it a lot more clearly. Try and get a different perspective, a fresh point of view. Step outside the box your problem has created within you and come at it from a different direction.
All of a sudden, just like the puzzle, you’ll see how to handle your problem. And just like the four lines that connect all the dots, you’ll discover the course of action that’s just right in order to set your life straight.
That’s why we think the nine dot problem is essentially what we’re ‘solving’ every day at Street Wisdom.
When we get caught up inside the box of our own life, it’s time to get outside, to think outside, to think outside the box, to stand back and ‘see it for exactly what it is’.
To come at it from a different direction.
From a little distance, you can see it a lot more clearly.
That’s Street Wisdom, the art of adding a little distance, of seeing more clearly.
It’s an option available to anybody who chooses to wander in this wiggly new way.
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy your own copy of Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
A Street Wisdom wanderer, Nicole Kagan, recently got in touch with a really good question. We asked if we could share it here to help other wiggly wanderers using the Street Wisdom way. We were delighted she said yes!
Here’s Nicole’s question:
I have a question about the process for Street Wisdom. Sometimes I find myself getting really stuck by what question to ask in the moment, as I’m embarking on the Street Wisdom walk/noticing/meaning-making process.
I seem to learn best through examples. I’m curious if there is a list of questions that others have asked themselves — I’m thinking this might prompt me with some ideas for the kinds of questions I might ask myself.
It’s a really good question and gets to the heart of Street Wisdom. Thank you Nicole!
So Street Wisdom – if you’re new – is a three-part process of 1. Tuning Up to the environment around you, before going out on a 2. Quest (where you ask the streets or landscape a question), and then finally 3. Sharing your story with others (or thinking for yourself if you’re on your own). Nicole’s question is about the middle bit – the Quest.
It’s a good question because, at some level, we all have a question all the time. But we often don’t know it. That’s partly what’s so profound about this simple Street Wisdom practice. We bring to light the questions we’re dealing with implicitly all the time. But the question is: how do you work out what your question is?
Here are Five Ways to ask Better Street Wisdom Questions if you need some Question Inspiration!
Firstly, don’t worry too much. If you’re not sure what your question is, go with that. Just go for a wander without any pressure or question and simply be curious about the signs and signals you see. See if there’s a pattern forming. Is the pattern interesting/useful?
Or try this. Maybe your question is: What’s my question? Use your wander to answer that question, then wander again at a later point with your new question!
If it’s any help, you can use the same question over a period of time. So don’t expect any one wander to show you the final answer. It will hopefully throw up some ‘fresh answers’. So take your time coming up with your question, and use it till you move on to your next one.
We’ve got some great ‘stock questions’ you could use that people often try out some of these: What’s next for me? Show me things I don’t know already. How can I do more using less energy? How can I make today more unusually X [insert word like joyful or curious or productive]? Show me some new ways of doing Y? How can I get better at Z?
Practise coming up with your question more and more. Think of it as a Question Muscle. Get better at posing your question, framing it, asking it. Make it as simple as possible. Ask strangers what they think about the question. Share your questions with friends and families. We all have questions, and answers are everywhere. If we’re going to imagine #BetterWays of living, working, playing, loving, learning, laughing… we need to ask #BetterQuestions.
Question: what do you think? What question has worked well for you recently? Let us know!
We’d love to share stories of people who’ve used the Street Wisdom process to ask, and answer, the questions in their lives
Thanks again Nicole for such a good question! And a big shout out for your amazing work, Meditative Muses. Really beautiful.
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy your own copy of Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
Thanks so much to rawpixel.com for this awesome pic!
On our monthly Street Wisdom Online Walkshop this month, we asked participants to share the lesson or wisdom they learned from the streets, or parks, or forests, or living rooms, or bedrooms, or whatever rooms they were in, using just three words.
We love this exercise – called #ThreeWordWisdom – and though on the face of it, it seems reductive, it’s actually more like sculpting. You’re chipping away at what’s not needed to get to the beautiful core.
We love these nuggets of wisdom, which we’re going to share from now on, every time we have our monthly practice session.
Enjoy December’s wisdom below.
Join us for the next session? Drop in from wherever you are.
Happy wandering!
Love being outdoors
Explore with curiosity
Search again tomorrow
Wash rinse repeat
Until it comes
Rest in curves
Contain everyday turbulence
Embrace imperfection. Be.
Buffeting will end.
Light opens dark
Light, hiding, revealing
Friends not fuel
Blue sky thinking
Combine unusual things
Is outside inside?
Clues every corner
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy your own copy of Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
On a recent Street Wisdom Walkshop, a participant’s Quest was:
How can I do more, with less energy?
It’s such a good question, we had to stop and go Wow for a bit.
It’s a good Street Wisdom question, because it’s not as big as “What’s the meaning of life?” or as small as “What shall I have for lunch?” It’s somewhere in between. And that means it’s more likely to throw up some answers.
It’s a good Street Wisdom question, because it’s focused, and specific, but open enough for the environment to throw up some interesting possibilities. You can also add to the start: “Streets, show me some options for how I can do more, with less energy?” The “options” bit primes your experience up for success!
It’s a good Street Wisdom question, because it’s got a solutions-focused approach contained within it. Imagine if the question was: “How can I get through all this work I’ve got to do?” That feels like it would take you to a dead end. Whereas the participant’s openness and learning-driven philosophy is conveyed in the question. Pump your question with possibility, and possibility might just flow.
It’s a good Street Wisdom question, because it could apply to so many of us. It’s a question for our times. We’re often not asking these questions just for ourselves. That’s why Street Wisdom Walkshops always end with Sharing, because then we get to hear each other’s stories, and learn from each other. And learning’s what it’s all about.
Questions are important. Let’s face it, there’s always a question we can ask. Either we can control it ourselves and take the lead in asking the question, or we can be back-seat drivers in our own lives and let the question ask us. And good questions make all the difference.
Proposition: Good questions lead to good answers lead to better futures.
So, what’s your question right now?
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy your own copy of Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
We’ve been trying a new thing out, here at Street Wisdom.
Nothing groundbreaking, nothing that changes the base model, but certainly a neat little innovation.
At the end of a Street Wisdom Walkshop, once everyone has shared what popped out for them on their Wander, and what they can learn from it, we’re encouraging people to sum up the Wisdom they will take with them, in just 3 words.
Yes! 3 words!
Below are some examples from Walkshops we’ve recently led in-person and online. (By the way, we’ve not shared any names, but if you’re reading this and don’t want your Three Word Wisdom shared here, contact us.)
It’s a really nice way of taking One Thing away with you from the Walkshop, into the future. Maybe just for a few days, maybe longer.
And the great thing? It can be easily repeated as you take Street Wisdom into your everyday walking practice. Think of it as a post-Wander puzzle to solve. A game. Your own personalised three words of wisdom. (Tip: write it in the third person, and then you can share it with others. It could be useful!)
So, what’s your latest Three Word Wisdom?
(And by the way: part of the fun of it, is sticking to the three word rule. But if you needed 4 or 5, that’s okay too!)
Enjoy the wonder
More alone time
Multiple paths: OK
Resolve something daily
Outsource security worries
Trust own wisdom
Be like moss
Get up earlier
Listen beyond noise
Look inside yourself
No new projects
Know neighbours better
You are nature
Trust organic process
Finish unfinished projects
Contemplate solemn feeling
Care for colleagues
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy your own copy of Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
We asked our poet-in-residence Philip Cowell to share the 5 reasons he loves Street Wisdom!
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy your own copy of Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
Thanks to rawpixel.com for the use of this free image!
We asked the artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, what Street Wisdom is, just to check… We like what came back! A useful summary and reminder of the Street Wisdom process. #AnswersAreEverywhere after all!
Yes, I’m familiar with Street Wisdom. Street Wisdom is a global social enterprise and a method that encourages individuals to use the streets as a source of inspiration, wisdom, and answers to personal or professional questions. It was founded by David Pearl in 2013 and has since gained popularity as a way to tap into the collective wisdom of the urban environment.
The Street Wisdom process involves walking in small groups and using a series of exercises and techniques to increase mindfulness and open oneself up to new perspectives. Participants are encouraged to pay attention to their surroundings, notice details that they might usually overlook, and seek insights and guidance from the environment and people they encounter.
The concept is based on the idea that the answers to our questions and challenges are often right in front of us, but we may not be fully aware of them. By slowing down, becoming more observant, and engaging with the streets, people can access fresh perspectives, clarity, and solutions to their problems.
Street Wisdom workshops and events are conducted in various cities around the world and are open to anyone interested in exploring the wisdom of the streets. The organization also provides resources and guidance for individuals and groups to conduct their own Street Wisdom walks.
Please note that my knowledge is based on information available up until September 2021, so there might have been new developments or changes related to Street Wisdom since then.
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Inspired? Fancy some more Street Wisdom? Join a Walkshop near you, or head out for your own wander right now with our Tune Ups. Buy your own copy of Wanderful, all profits go back into Street Wisdom to help keep it free. Share your insights and follow us @StreetWisdom_
Thank you for rawpixel.com for the use of this pic!
