#MicroPoetry|December ’22 Reflections

Trusting one another is a very difficult and important task that each community must navigate. Part of that trust, I believe, begins when we trust ourselves. In this respect, however, I do not mean trust as connected to ego. Rather, I mean trust that we have confidence in ourselves. This confidence, in turn, reveals the precious gifts we have, are open to being graciously encouraged, and ultimately helps us recognise the blessings in others.

Making a decision is a powerful moment upon which we should reflect. In that moment, when we embark, things change. Whether for good or not depends on the intention with which we have taken our decisions seriously.

Where does this moment find you?
Upon what are you discerning and what decisions lie before you that carry import?
With whom do you converse and prepare to make such a decision?
When doubt and confidence dance, where do you turn for support before you cast the die?

It is so very easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of change that we see in our lifetime. This has only accelerated as the pandemic arrived in 2020 and forced us, whether as individuals, families, and/or organisations to rush into a future that we may have been avoiding.

It is also true, in the presence of paradox, that change always presents opportunity if we are attuned to it. The way in which we do this is often by shifting from believing that knowledge is static to recognising that learning is lifelong. If we possess an acuity to always learn, rather than spying a threat, it can also equip us to recognise new possibility.

Sometimes it is difficult to know what to do, how to do it, and even when. Sometimes it may feel like we are coasting or faking our way through life. Then things come into clarity.

There are many ways that things can crystallise for us. One can be a crisis that is unexpected and for which we were not prepared. This is likely inevitable, and we will all likely experience this. Though we may not be prepared, how we choose to respond opens doors to opportunities that, though perhaps not easy, make clear commitments that we may need to reconsider.

Beauty is everywhere from the daily routine to the miraculous revelation; it is there for us in every moment. Such abundance can be easy to overlook if we are cowed to look downward when we are out in the day. We can also fail to note such richness in the midst of constant messages that we are inadequate and flawed. As we prepare to walk into a day potential filled, what commitment do we need to embrace in order to see with wonder’s eyes?

We live in an interesting time. The corpus of human knowledge is just a Google away.

Where once we had to wait to learn about subjects that were tied to the linear progression of grade school to post-secondary opportunities, we now simply ask our technology to find something. Whether text-based or video, knowledge has become a veritable information buffet.

In this time, therefore, the role of Elder’s and those who can help us discern wisdom from this digital library becomes important. Such teachers invite us to consider that what we learn has direct implications upon the common good. With these teachings, we must then ask ourselves what we must do to ensure that our doing fosters our shared dignity.

Fostering Love requires a key element that too often is not considered: the love of self. This self-knowing is very different from ego. This task of the inner journey often begins when we humbly recognise ourselves as both wonderfully made and also imperfect.

Imperfect does not mean flawed or broken. Rather, in awakening to love of self, we are invited to recognise that it is in community where our particular gifts complement those of others. And in nurturing this shared perspective, when then begin to imbue Love together into our doing and being.

There are many facets to leadership. A few that are significant, in times of change, are both the ability to dream, and to then translate that into reality. How this gets done is also variable.

Leaders can operate on a spectrum that ranges from directive to collaborative. Neither is better or worse. How leaders treat those with whom they work is central to the task of helping bring ideas into reality.