The other night, we did a new workshop with Melissa at Seymour+.  We talked here about this game “This is so me” where each participant is given an object which they must describe by starting with “This is so me because…”

Therefore, where each could set a limit (well yeah, I am not a dice… SHIT!), there the person develops perspective “by embracing” a foreign object (this is so me because I am multifaceted). This perspective can then develop within a conversation, brainstorm etc. with other… humans.

So this time we asked each participant to come with a picture of which they could say “this photo is so me because.”  Then we switched it and asked each participant to take someone else’s photo and to write a text starting by “this is so me because.”

I had no idea what the outcome would be and Melissa told me “well say it!”  So I told everyone and it made us all laugh.  Where we stopped laughing came a bit later.  Because the next 20 texts didn’t describe the writer, but the person to whom the photo belonged.

Therefore if you start with a photo, a person who doesn’t know you is capable of telling “everything about you” in a sharp and ruthless manner.  Its mindboggling and sometimes annoying (it blows that someone knows it all).  But most of it, it was magical!

To start with, the texts were magnificent, and then there was listening, a support system, something unique even though no one knew each other.  Furthermore because the only thing that a person could write about the other while not being able to do for themselves, was always along the lines of “I am so pretty/beautiful.”  So then I am encouraging you to do so.

It reminded me of that exercise with Sasha where in 3 seconds, you could capture a person.  It’s frightening and incredible at the same time:  we are all open books.  It’s the anti-Dorian Grey experience.

We all left shook-up and emotional.  Still not knowing each other, but knowing each other deeply.

It’s quite amazing isn’t it?