The German mystic, Meister Eckhart, says, “You should be less concerned about what you have to do and think and more about what you must be. For if your being is good, your work will be of great value.”
Gentle Reader, consider that Meister Eckhart is correct and that it is our “being” that must be transformed. How does one go about transforming his/her ‘being?’ What will one ‘Do’ in order to ‘Be’ different? [Transformation = a fundamental change in character or structure]
Consider, doing ‘differently.’ Consider, being awake, aware, receptive and ‘seeing.’ You and I are not problems to be fixed; if we try to fix ourselves or others we quickly run into resistance – most of us ‘resist’ being fixed (we either don’t believe we need to be fixed or we rebel against the presumed authority and control of the fixer). If we are not ‘problems’ to be fixed what are we? Consider that we are, at our healthiest, living paradoxes to be embraced.
Consider that transformation involves ‘seeing’ things in a new way. Change comes through ‘seeing.’ For example, as a leader, if I see you as a problem (to be solved) I will treat you in a particular way; if, on the other hand, I see you as a fully human being (a living paradox) I will treat you in another way.
Consider: If you are a problem you are an ‘it’ and ‘object’ (or a ‘cog’ or a resource or a commodity or an asset or a liability or a symptom or a ‘dis-ease’) I will ‘treat’ you (diagnose you, intervene so you will get better, or attempt to fix you). If, on the other hand, I see you as a fully human being (a living paradox, imperfect as I am imperfect as the team or the department or the division or the organization is imperfect) I will not treat you but relate to you and I will invite you to relate to me; relationship is a major tap root that nurtures transformation.
Consider that if I ‘see’ things differently then. I can actually change my mind. for I now have a new way of ‘seeing’, of looking at things. The wider my ability to ‘see’ things differently the more I am able to transform.
What might I choose to ‘see’ differently? I might choose to discern the metaphors I use and ‘see’ what the world looks like if I ‘see’ through the lens of a different metaphor; I might discern my deep beliefs, values and assumptions and then I might choose to ‘see’ through the lens of different beliefs, values and assumptions. I might ‘see’ the questions I ask and ‘see’ what happens if I ask other questions. I might ‘see’ what a different alignment of metaphors, beliefs, values, assumptions and questions reveals to me about me, you and our relationship.
Strength is not needed in order to do this; good will is – good faith, good intention – the good will to choose to ‘see’ differently.
Where do I resist choosing to ‘see’ differently? Why do I resist choosing to ‘see’ differently? To what extend does ‘fear’ play a part in my being resistant to ‘seeing’ differently? Where am I willing to ‘see’ differently? What, in me, makes this choice possible? What in me makes this choice a challenge, if not ‘near impossible’?
Here is a photo that my good friend Yim Harn sent me. What are the ways you might ‘see’ this photo? What emerges for you when you choose to ‘see’ this photo in different ways?