Loosen first impressions and imagine other possible stories.
The Exercise
Let one person come to mind or catch your attention. Notice the story you were about to tell yourself and set it down for one minute. Choose one question about them, then draw three cards. Let each card become a different possible answer; none of them claims to be true.
More about this exercise +Close the explanation −
Why
Our minds quickly connect a few visible details into a story. Several possible stories can loosen that first certainty without pretending that every possibility is equally likely.
How
Keep one question in mind. Read all three cards, one at a time, and give each a short answer. Keep all three lightly in mind rather than choosing the one you prefer.
Notice which possibility feels easy, which you resist, and what changes when more than one story remains open. Afterwards, a Reflection card can turn the attention back towards your own habits of seeing.
Ways to use it
This can happen entirely in your imagination. You may think of someone you know, someone you see regularly, someone you remember, or someone you have only just noticed. You do not need to approach them or keep watching them.
Preparation
No special setting is needed. A familiar place, a remembered moment, and a little time are enough.
Background
The invitation to imagine the lives of strangers also appears in Better Strangers, one of the creative companions acknowledged by the book. Tiny Encounters places the emphasis on holding several possibilities open rather than finding a better or more convincing story.
Three cards drawn. Let all three become different possible answers to the same question.
Imagine an explanation that completely changes how you feel about this person.
Imagine this person as the main character in a story no one else knows.
Imagine a choice this person is living with.
Afterwards, you can turn the attention back towards your own habits of seeing. Draw a .