FOUR CARDINAL STORIES

Prologue

As you read the following four stories, it should be possible for you to identify with a certain cardinal direction. Are you basically a child of the North, South, East or West? Read the stories carefully. Remember that all of the stories journey through all of us. We encompass all points of the compass. However, each of us is attracted to the particular dynamics of one cardinal direction. Try to select the story with which you most identify.

Child of the North

I see the world through my mind. I am very focused and I often bring structure, objectivity and precision to projects and situations. Because my mind is more central to my personality than my emotions, my mood is generally stable. I am not impulsive.

Most central to my personality is a value structure through which I organize my life. The values which I uphold do not change easily. If you want to know more about me, ask me what I value. I think that values are not maintained at the practical level of daily living. This is unfortunate. I carefully select the relationships and endeavors to which I commit.

I tend to be selective with respect to what I take in; I am not easily overwhelmed by either the sensory or the emotional worlds. However, it is possible for me to be too much in my head. I have a natural affinity for space, for solitude and for independent activity. Nature is attractive to me, especially water and winter.

My communications are generally thoughtful, purposeful and objective. Clarity and precision in communication are important to me. I am often meticulous in my choice of words and facts. For this reason, written communication may have a particular appeal for me. The content of my communication is more likely to be factual and informational.

I am rarely fully at ease in primarily social situations. I have most comfort in purposeful and clearly delineated gatherings. People may not always be aware of how I am feeling or that I can be compassionately aware of the feelings of others.

I like to help establish and articulate the guiding values and principles for a relationship or an activity. I like to build structure based on clear values. I am usually willing and able to engage in work that is highly detailed, provided that I value its purpose. I have an objective voice that expresses constancy, rationality and principle.

Child of the West

I am a problem-solver with an active imagination. I am interested in ideas that have meaning, purpose and serve the community as a whole. My mind is usually focused but may pursue several ideas at once and several alternatives to each idea. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether I think my feelings or feel my thoughts. I identify more with what I do rather than who I am. If you want to know more about me, ask me where I want to go.

I usually do not pick up many signals from my body; nor am I aware of absorbing the emotional energy around me. My physical energy, therefore, is usually abundant and I can work long hours. I am often characterized as a workaholic and may need to be reminded to rest. Nature is attractive to me, especially wind and autumn.

My prime orientation is towards the movement of ideas, work and events. I am interested in processing creative work with others through intense communication. Interpersonal relationships have special significance for me. I devote much energy to furthering communication within and across groups of people. I often use communication to move people and/or projects. I am willing to engage in extensive personal communication with my family and friends if I see it leading somewhere.

I like to move work forward by first understanding the work, then designing general approaches, then linking the approach with the people to be involved. The specific ways in which the work is done emerges from the people participating. I usually prefer to leave details to others. I often play a visible leadership role.

Child of the East

I connect personally with everything I hear, speak and do. I am open to experiencing the people, the environment and the contexts with which I participate. This means that I pick up a great deal of information in any situation, particularly emotions and even the physical conditions of the people present. If you want to know more about me, ask me what I love.

I am highly intuitive although I sometimes lack the confidence to act according to my intuition. I am attracted to diversity. I may become more stressed or fragmented in attempting to participate in too much and in too many lives. Part of my growth is to learn to value the "middle way" - to balance the extremes within myself and in my commitments. Nature is attractive to me, especially sunshine and spring.

My body is responsive to my feelings. How I feel emotionally is reflected in my physical condition. Emotional trauma from the past is held in the body, and it sometimes causes loss of energy and physical distress. It is sometimes difficult for me to make a clear distinction between my own emotions and physical sensations and those of others with whom I am related. I can lose my sense of self if I am not discerning.

I experience a wide range of moods. It is important for me to develop selectivity with regard to people, food, sound, color, etc. I value my feelings and take time to reflect upon them before I can clearly communicate them to others. It is critical for me to process my feelings and emotions through communicative interaction with people. I make meaning of my experience through interpersonal relationships. I understand the nature of people and I use this understanding in communication and in the organization of people, ideas and systems.

Child of the South

I am interested in making the paradoxical practical. I want to translate thought and ideas into practical results which satisfy a need or solve a problem. Organization is important to me. I am also aware of patterns and patterning. If you want to know more about me, ask me about what I do.

I have an innate sense of continuity and a respect for the past. I am interested in the whole and live life organically. I work with the environment including people, things and situations. I tend to think in terms of connected systems. Group life affects me deeply as it relates to the whole. Nature is attractive to me, especially forests and summer.

Because of my group orientation I am sometimes unaware of my personal needs and goals. When I know these, my flow of energy is intense. I am often unaware of signals from my body. I take in everything about me including the emotional and physical conditions of others, all of the information, every ambiguity and paradox. I am like a giant sponge, storing information as a whole throughout my being. It is necessary for me continually to reconnect with nature in order to stay balanced and healthy.

My verbal responses tend to be slow because I have so much data to process and to understand. I like to talk about what I am doing, not who I am. Often, rather than talk about what I am doing, I would prefer to just do it. A challenge for me is to become more conscious of myself as an individual - to establish my own identity. It sometimes takes courage for me to speak with my own clear voice.

Created by: Brad Mitchell, PhD. Ohio State University

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