The Final Lesson.

how fitting…

Gratitude is so important. When you are constantly evaluating your life and are thankful for what you have- both tangible and intangible, you are aware of your life and how blessed you are. This opens you up to receiving more because your vibration is one of gratefulness, you attract more things to be grateful for. This is my personal philosophy in life and the key to manifesting what you desire- I’m so glad this lesson was reinforced by the presenting group.

The session was well researched and well executed- It was perfect.

This course has been life changing, I am SO grateful I was a part of it.

This topic speaks to the core of humanity. relationships vary from romantic, work related and social relationship. in recent time relation are built in different ways. the social media provided us with a platform to forge relation in a globally, although it has negative results. From my personal account , I ‘ve built relationship for pre -school to current work environment. some friendship failed because of different interests and some simply failed with no specific reason. for example, my best friend in a catholic nun and because of religious commitments she has to undertake, our friendship suffered because we communicate nor see each other. however the bond is still there.

We have not attended the lecture yet but as I am reflecting on the module, reviving my notes I see that a lot has been learnt, a lot that I can apply even as I grow…

The activities have really been steller – Bingo! 10 Nails and Nail, Knot or Not, the Decisions activity. We have moved from doing check-ins to literally wake people up to one that we’re truly relevant…

The presentations have improved week on week – it was a special highlight for me when Roz said our group’s presentation was the best one yet (nevermind that the teams after us improved more so:-)).

I appreciate 5he lessons gained this semester – I am still a while away from finishing my Wits journey but this course will certainly be counted among the highlights of this journey.

Thank you Ros, thank you Telfer.

The team facilitated facilitating decisions!! well-done team even thou we were a big team, with different characters however Respect made us go forward and we managed to deal with group dynamics. I have learned facilitating skills is our everyday life and also therapy it taught me to observe everything happening around me. I also learned not making a decision is also a decision. Lol!! Everything went well as planned. We gave each an opportunity to present/ facilitate. I also learned you can facilitate using other tools accept technology one need to be creative. It is very important not to be selective with data and you must not assume. Sometimes is the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.

Thank you , Mrs. Solomon and Mr. Telfer I learned a lot from your skill-sharing keep a good job.

Disclaimer this day in particular I almost felt like not going to school, it feel like the more we are closer to the finish line becomes harder and harder to stick with the commitments I have. Two Saturdays to go and here I am feeling mentally tired no energy to go stand up in fact my bed was my best friend however I made a decision to go to school.
The 12th October, team’s was classic very interesting topic that running across on our day to day life and the team articulated it very well.I like the fact that their brought in parameters that are very key to effective decisions such as Politic, Economic ,social and technology. The team went further and gave us activities aligned to the topic and consider the four parameters then explain how their affect our lives.
In conclusion to make effective decision we need to collect data, assess the impact and that will inform decision. The team left us with a quote by Michelle Obama that says “Make decision based on what should happen”.

The Facilitating Decisions team trully outdid themselves. Each team members strength was highlited. Their ice bracker was amaizing, their synergy was out of this world.

When I walked into that class I had made unconscious decisions and I was reminded by that team that we make decisions each day without even realising it. Some decisions might be made due to emotions, experience or as a result of being under pressure. The truth of the matter is that we make decisions based on different situations, be it work, socially or family related.

I also learnt that we as individuals often justify our own actions but we fail to do the same when it is another individual. What I mean is that from today onwards I will evaluate people’s actions by their intentions instead of concluding the first thing that comes to my mind. Especially because I work in a team and being surrounded by different people of different charancters, we are bound to stumble each other, one way or another.

By understanding people’s intetions through communication I will be doing myself justice by not stressing unnecessarily or jumping to conclusions. Instead this will help me build better relationships by encouraging communication from both sides, which will help strengthen trust. I vow to breathing when I feel I might be overwhelmed to avoid making irrational decisions.

Well done to today’s group.

Potso?

I am grateful to have attended this course, it has boosted my self esteem and made confident about myself.

Gratitude means thank you and  showing appreciation. It’s the warm feeling you get when you remember the person who told you  thank you and they appreciate you.

Saying thank you does not kill anyone and showing appreciation is a confidence booster, I’m grateful for registering this facilitation course,it has taught me so many things that I did not know but now I know,the knowledge I have is for a lifetime and no one can take it away from me.

Im so grateful for Roslyn and the Team for teaching us about Facilitation skills, for making us not fearful but showing us that we can conquer the world with the knowledge we have.

Week 12

This week summed up all the learnings and skills we had learned throughout the course and what better topic to tie this all up than Expressing Gratitude

Gratitude is beautiful concept. To Be be grateful is to be mindful, to be present , to be conscious of the very space you inhabit and how you decide to use it through your actions, words or deed. I found this quote by John F Kennedy that practically enforces what expressing gratitude is

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” John F. Kennedy

A new facilitator called Karen came in for the day an  challenged us on how we would handle conflict while facilitating ? This was tricky for me to reconcile as I kept asking myself as a facilitator in a new work environment howe can I mediate when I do not have personal information and insights on what the conflict is about and is it fair for a facilitator to be the one to mediate between group members who have conflict. Karen explains that there is no manual on how to resolve conflict as each situation is unique. With that said I will be reading up some more on conflict resolution.

The most interesting part of the class was when Karen gave us a taste of NNI way of facilitating.Our topic was the legalisation of dagga and 4 strong viewpoints came out where each group had to represent their views. it was interesting that this type of facilitation puts emphasis on the voice and not the people . This helps the speakers  to not personalise issues and to also give objective  views.What I observed is that it is very hard to separate the voice from the person and at some point it did get personally however Karen would step in and remind us that we are acknowledging each and every voice and we not attacking the person.

This was undoubtedly one of the best exercises we did and from that little exercise one learns the importance of listening to another person’s viewpoint and arguing constructively.

Overall I am grateful I took this Facilitation Course and would like to all all the skills I learn in class in real life.

Regards

Wakhile

It was a very sweet gesture of the facilitating group to hand out small thank you tokens in a form of sweets. It was a nice surprise at 08:00 on a Saturday morning.

The facilitation piece was very well thought out and I loved the tree activity of writing down things that we are grateful for. This is a great way of getting back to the small things in life in order to ground yourself.  A fellow class mate told me that she keeps a gratitude journal and goes back to it when she is feeling the punches of life. This was such an amazing insight for me. It is definitely something that I will be doing going forward.

In all honesty that was my only aha real enjoyable moment of the class. Loved the facilitation piece and all the pictures of quotes on the walls. I still fail to understand the point of the rest of the class, we got a taste tester of NNI which I had to go home and google to get the full logistics of :”The No-name Initiative (NNI) is a transformational group process that supports expression, emotional processing, awareness dialogue, as well as personal responsibility and accountability” Wasn’t my favourite.

Thank you Roslyn for taking the time on a Saturday to give an insightful class ( something very different from regular academia )

today’s class ne???

i think it was very clever of the facilitators to leave this topic to be presented at the very end. like the saying goes that when you show a heart of gratitude you open up room for more. Sometimes we live life as if the world revolve around us. We forget to pause and be grateful for what ever small that is happening in our lives. we tend to take people that loves us for granted and we even forget to thank the universe for the gift of life. this was  a very hard week for me, being in class today just has put a lot of things and questions into perspective . i am great full for the lesson learned in today’s class,for the facilitators and especially my syndicated group.

I have been looking forward to the last day of the lecture. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because I was starting to feel bad each Saturday morning when I leave home 😕. My three year old would ask who goes to school on a Saturday? I think he was starting to be tortured by the fact that momy isn’t around on Saturday mornings.

But I must say I was even harder to part with my fellow group mates. To see yourself through other people’s eyes validates a lot about One’s character. Especially if it is about the qualities you were not aware of. When people don’t just acknowledge your efforts but acknowledge the whole package, it is the most humbling experience ever! We promised to keep in touch and I’m glad I met you group 5!

The last Saturday for Facilitation class and I would have thought that I would have been excited to have completed this semester. I feel as though I am saying goodbye to a friend at the airport with mixed emotions.. I sit down and listen to Ros explaining about thanking our ancestors and it makes complete sense. Irrespective of which racial group each of us belong to, it is vital to thank our ancestors or higher power even if it’s by starting off with thanksgiving to being on the wake up list this morning..

The more we are able to humble ourselves and live each day in  gratitude, the more blessings, opportunities and so much more will  be welcomed into our paths. Small things that we often overlook like the people that we meet, our families and the  love and joy that they bring into our world.. Or simply just being happy and in a better space not even having a reason for your bliss..

What are You grateful for at this very moment? Even if it’s one thing that you could mention. .That’s the perfect item to Acknowledge and Pray for! So get ready to light your candle and talk to the One whose Always listening..

I’d like to take a moment of Acknowledge all the people from Group 4- Storytelling.. I will miss our planning, silly jokes, sitting together on Saturdays during lessons and breaks. I’m grateful that our paths have crossed. We have always keep in touch and meet up, not letting life keep us too busy as we have formed real and good friendships. To Ros and all the Facilitators, I’d like to thank you for sacrificing your Saturdays to spend with us as you could have been with your families. I have learnt an immense amount of wisdom and  will retain these techniques and apply them daily to myself and how I work and treat others. Lastly I’d like to thank my support structure, the people who have always believed in me and helped me along the way. I will never forget the important lessons I’ve learnt in this class and even something as small as a smile at a stranger will help them feel that the world isn’t such a scary or lonely place..

Love and light to All

xoxo

Nina

This course brought more than awareness, it was therapeutic in so many levels. This course has been great and enjoyed all the presentations and appreciated all the effort the teams put for their presentations.

Big thank you and appreciation goes to all the members of group 8, they were great to work with. Love you team J

To my friend Gillian Louw, so many things I can say about you but you know you special to me. You are a great friend, supported me during my pregnancy by taking notes for me in lectures and sharing them with love.

To our lecture, thank you so much for making me enjoy this course, I have learned a lot from you, I love your energy and empathy you showed. You are an amazing person Ross.

As I finally type this blog, I look back at this journey and realize it wouldn’t have been easy had I have traveled it alone. I’m even doubting myself if I would have made it this far.

I would like to Take a Bow to my group “Learning From Life” group, you have made this trip a pleasant and a joy-able ride, from the day I joined the team as a late additional member to today…we have shared laughter, advises, mentor and knowledge through our interactions and whatsapp group. It has been great and Thank you for all your support.

To the entire Facilitation Team, YOU are all amazing! you have made it easy for me to forfeit my weekend sleep just to be part of each session and I am grateful for that.  Our Facilitator and supporting staff thank you for sharing the knowledge and for your guidance.

I have gained more than what I had anticipated.

Mixed emotions……..

Another aha moment to my friend Zodidi Kutwana I wish to express a sincere thanks; you gave me the best gift ever. I celebrated my 40th birthday 10 days ago and when you gifted me with the most beautiful journal entitled “Those who TRUST in the LORD will find NEW Strength” I did not fully understand your choice of gift. The universe has spoken my Friend, the last time a kept a journal I was 15 years old and for some odd reason I simply could not get myself to journal until today 25.10.2017. A new journey has started for me and I thank you!!!

Life indeed begins at 40 I feel renewed and revived & super excited for the journey that awaits. Challenges I had too many to count; survived heart surgery and God blessed me with new beginnings & promise of life in abundance, Self I have achieved against all odds a girl from the Southern Townships of JHB, years later God blessed me with 2 beautiful daughters one of which a 2nd year Law student travelling the world, Completed 7 Comrades marathons & realizing a life long dream my BA Degree, Emerging Self forming an NGO for victims of trauma, writing my memoirs and travelling the globe discovering & embracing the best me, Frustration that exist in my current employment and lack of ethics and professionalism suppose it’s part of the concrete jungle, Energy I love my family my endless source of energy, Inner resistance allowing anger to manifest, walking away, holding on to a past but finally decided to let go I need to do me, The crack renewal is on the horizon!!!, Community give to the needy and uplift women, giving unconditionally to the ones near & dear to my heart, From the Balcony realise my strengths & weaknesses knowing when to pursue and retract but most importantly to never allow anyone the key to my happiness. God blessed me abundantly & he knows the plans he has for me, Letting-go of the old & embrace the new me, Seeds having turned 40 I effectively planted the seeds for a bright future which was written in the stars at the beginning of my life journey, Prototyping adventure & innovation, People my A Team, my Smile keepers, my day one, Action let go, let life & embrace with all my might no more fear and anxiety continue to journal and put concrete action items into place

I will forever be grateful to each of my loved ones, mentors, the ones who believed in me against all odds. ACKNOWLEDGMENT to the ones who invested in the best me ever to the ones in this realm & beyond for constantly revealing how blessed I am “Appearance, Actions, Qualities & Impact” the new cornerstones of the better ME – Gigi xoxo

In order to complete and submit all of my blogs, I provide a thank you in advance to Group 11 for their facilitation piece.

I sincerely need to acknowledge the beautifully crafted Facilitation Skills programme as designed by Roslyn Solomon and Team. I am grateful to Ros and the co-facilitators for showing up and being present with us during all of the activities and especially with all the new-learning which we jointly experienced.

This Facilitation Skills programme is a breath of fresh air due to the unique and controversial approach which is introduced on Day 1. I am grateful that I was not influenced by peers about what to anticipate from this course, as this programme has fulfilled and exceeded any expectations which I thought I had.

I would also like to thank the co-facilitators who had shared of their personal experiences on the first Saturday of the course. At the time, I didn’t quite get what the fuss was all about, in terms of how this course could so dramatically impact your life. I humbly confess that I now am a believer, and now, I definitely get it!

Ros, your life journey has presented you to us as a sage, unconventional, amazing, Facilitator. I admire how comfortable you are in your own skin, and how you do not feel a need to defend your truth. It was beautiful to learn from you, your family, your life experiences – it was all so authentic. May you be blessed with phenomenal opportunities to inspire young and older minds with relevant and rewarding experiential life lessons.

Strength and Amazing Grace, to You, your Family, and your Team members.

To my fellow class members – this has been an amazing journey. Thank you for adding the spice and flavouring to each Saturday morning session. For those of you who are finishing your last year of studies this year – what an inspiration you are. To those who continue with me for 2018/2019, let’s show Witsplus how it’s done.

Thank you!