Grokking

 Grokking is a fascinating term that is very much connected to who I am at my very best. It seems to be both the way I am "wired" as well as being something which must be part of my DNA!

Grokking actually comes from the Word Grok, coined by Science Fiction Doyen Robert Heinlein in his memorable and classic Science Fiction novel " Stranger in A Strange Land" Grokking is the transitive verb form of Grok. The Dictionary defines grokking as " to understand profoundly through intuition and empathy.

 As I look back, I've been an explorer, a searcher and a quester since infancy! I was the classic " Why" kid, the child who wanted to learn and know about anything and every one. Not knowing and not seeking to gain the information that I craved to have was and is a passion for me. I think this explains my passion , overall for being a debater, a discussion participant and a researcher. I became a teacher because of my desire to work with those who are inclined to be this way, to help them to value this GIFT and to learn the joy of  seeking to become better and better informed.

  I admit that my people skills do not let me operate, in this arena, as skillfully, smoothly, suavely and as artfully as I would like. I used to believe, for my first 30 or so years, that this inclination made me simply bizarre and quite odd. Then, I took a Meyers-Briggs Test and that showed that My Intuition showed up so strongly that it ALMOST qualified as a superpower. Shortly after that , I heard a discussion on the terms grok and grokking.

  I really do operate best when I can get a clear picture of someone as rapidly and as fully developed as possible and can establish a degree of being connected and comfortable with them. That is the essence of Grok!Empathy and intuition them, as noted above allow me to practice grokking as a life skill.

 I hid from this for a number of years. It is only REALLY within the last year and a half that I've learned to become comfortable with this aspect of myself and have been willing to work with it rather than deny it and push it away! It is an even more recent phenomena that I've been willing to be more disclosive, open and vulnerable in terms of letting people see me as I am. In some ways, This Blog Posting is a companion piece to the " Being Real" posting of a few days ago!

  My background as a history teacher causes me to enjoy noting special milestones and land mark. This is my 250th Seperate Posting on This blog. I felt that I need to make THIS entry special! so, My Grokking sense of you who read these entries told me that you'd find this fascinating and enjoyable! I shall now LEARN whether that grokking reading proves to be correct! - LOL!!!!!!!!!