Years ago I was inspired by Edward de Bono’s book, Six Thinking Hats. Bono was talking about approaching the challenge by focusing on one particular angle at a time and avoiding getting lost or confused in the middle of the process.
I’m not trying to preach to you about the method here, though it’s very interesting and useful. I’m thinking about various hats as a symbol of different roles in our lives. With these hats on, we are sending messages to others. We can underline some expertise, state of mind, or the activities involved.
The doctor’s hat is very honorable proof of certain academic knowledge. In the middle of writing my doctoral thesis, an author and academic encouraged me to go on. He humorously pointed out, that after becoming a Doctor in Law, I could much more freely share my opinions – and they would even be respected in a new way. I don’t know how true this is, as I have so far mainly concentrated on writing children’s books.
Having the wrong hat for a particular field can be doubtful. Can a Doctor in Law write children’s books from the heart? Can a ladylike person with exquisite leather cloves be taken seriously as an expert, or can she honestly care for somebody less fortunate?
I would suggest, that we concentrate on the persons under the hat. Besides the thoughts in that particular head, let’s try to look even deeper. Even as deep as the heart of the person. There is much more to find.
The serious-looking expert or fashionable city person can be anything from a selfish egoist to a loving helper to others, or from a competent authority to an empty boaster.