Friday, October 11, 2002
Zen Counting
I had a chance to meet with a few representatives of the local Peace Games contingent. Deliciously committed people, who, thanks to some outside funding, manage to get an hour a week in a few select schools to teach kids about the power of community: conflict resolution, cooperation, mutual empowerment. It's been maybe twenty-five years since I got to visit an urban school. So much dedication. So little recognition.
And I learned a new game. Zen Counting.
You're with a bunch of people. You close your eyes. Somebody starts the count by saying something exactly like "one." Whoever is so moved then says "two." Anyone can say the next number at any time. However, if two people call out a number at the same time, the count has to start over.
We played to twenty. We got to eleven. In four rounds. Not an easy game. But fun. Definitely fun. It's neat how, when you "lose," it's never one person's fault. Then there are the strategic implications. If you respond faster, is it more or less likely that you'll succeed? Are there clues we can give each other by the way we say the number? Can we somehow decide that Bernie always goes after Melissa?
And I learned a new game. Zen Counting.
You're with a bunch of people. You close your eyes. Somebody starts the count by saying something exactly like "one." Whoever is so moved then says "two." Anyone can say the next number at any time. However, if two people call out a number at the same time, the count has to start over.
We played to twenty. We got to eleven. In four rounds. Not an easy game. But fun. Definitely fun. It's neat how, when you "lose," it's never one person's fault. Then there are the strategic implications. If you respond faster, is it more or less likely that you'll succeed? Are there clues we can give each other by the way we say the number? Can we somehow decide that Bernie always goes after Melissa?
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