Pointing Us in the Right Direction
Cheri Huber wrote, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” It’s an idea that therapists take to heart, at least when they analyze the handwriting of the people they work with to get tentative insight into personality. Handwriting analysis, of course, is no science. But, like body language itself, it provides soft data that potentially helps us get a feel for people’s core patterns.
With that as an introduction, I find it important to share the signature of Jordan Peterson. Why? Because embedded in handwriting we often find meaningful iconography which relay something of a person’s map of meaning. By way of example, let’s look at the signatures of a few prominent individuals.
You might notice that in the signature of Isaac Stern, the world-renown violinist, you see what looks like a little violin and bow embedded in the first initial of his last name.
Or looking at the signature of Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to walk the moon, note that in his signature we might see the contours of a rocket and a launchpad.
What about the signature of former Prima Ballerina Karen Kain, currently the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada? Do you find in those interlocking capital letters images of two stick figures, dancers, arm in arm ready to take their bow, post-performance?
Remember Mark Spitz who won seven gold medals in the 1975 Olympic swim competition competing in the butterfly stroke category? Look at the first name in his moniker. See a horizontal figure with arms outstretched; a swimmer doing the butterfly stroke?
Perhaps you see a putter in the final ‘d’ penned by Golfer Tiger Woods in his signature.
Writers often unknowingly depict a symbol in a signature or in handwriting, more generally; usually one which is personally relevant.
What is the archetype that we find embedded in Jordan Peterson’s signature?
Peterson’s archetype is the straight line. Note his first initial, rendered as a straight line with an arrow on the top pointing to the top of the hierarchy, towards which he strives while encouraging us to do the same.
Peterson’s reliance on capital letters means each letter is comprised of individual lines. He makes few rounded strokes. The signature itself runs ramrod straight across the page, another way he embodies the line.
That’s Peterson. He gives it to us straight. Urging us to aim well so we pursue the right goal, all of which involves following the trajectory of the arrow. “Be careful where you are aiming,” he warns us. The line is our trajectory in life. And note how carefully he articulates that signature. Legibility is another sign of the straight shooter.
The line represents moving in a direct fashion towards a goal. It also represents being aligned in word and deed. The line is the metaphor for the ideal structure of self. Take, for example, how we depict the personal pronoun in the English language. I trust you see that straight line?
I would suggest that when Peterson tells us not to lie, the real issue is that when we lie we leave the path of the straight and narrow. We are no longer towing the line. In fact, a lie is a ‘line’ that lost a letter. As soon as you lose that ’n,’ the line is nowhere to be found. You are left with nothing but a lie.
Now speaking of lies . . .There are other writers whose archetype of choice is the circle. I recently wrote about the signature of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured below.
Trudeau is a ‘circle’ man. The circle represents connectivity, unity, community-mindedness, empathy. Think of the circle as a big hug. In my 2015 Huffington Post blog entry, when Trudeau was running for election, I pointed out that though circle types are warm and friendly, they do not generally constitute the profile of leadership.
I also pointed out that we see a symbol in Trudeau’s signature: see an Elmer Fudd-like character, a cartoon of a man’s face with big eyes, nose and no mouth, a profile pointing to the right of the page? I suggested that that childish imagery was consistent with the Peter Pan character who is currently running the Canadian nation; also reflecting this man’s strong visual orientation partnered with his weak auditory processing, the latter mars his fluency when communicating. All eyes, no mouth.
Writers who favour the circle are humanitarian types, deep feelers and tend to be engaging and colourful. But with the many complex issues that face us today, the archetype of the line heralds the importance of strategy and function. For leadership, it’s arguably more relevant than the warmth associated with the circle.
With the Canadian election around the corner, I’d like to suggest that if we take a page from Jordan Peterson, we can ask ourselves how Canada will fare with another year of ‘circle’ leadership. Peterson’s popularity bears testimony that the line mentality, at least in some pockets of the population, is an emerging sensibility. And some are tired of the violations and breeches that come with a Prime Minister who is less than straight when dealing with national issues.
Canada brought the world Jordan Peterson. Also, Mr. Dressup, the popular children’s entertainer Ernie Coombs of yesteryear, who found a calling educating kids on daytime television. By way of comparison, our current Mr. Dressup possesses limited clarity regarding appropriate venues for his gifts. On October 21, if you are Canadian, you might be able to help. Whether you vote with your heart or vote with your head, make your vote count. Vote for the line. Let’s get this country back on track.
