Category: transformative leadership

Embracing change

Do you like change? I tend to enjoy it and even call for it into my life regularly. I realize though that people are usually averse to change. We often say that human beings are creatures of habits. In reality we tend to call for a change of circumstances, as we meet regular bouts of adversity. We are often faced with trials and tribulations that seem utterly hopeless. We fight over and over again and yet we seem to always get the same results. We want change, by which we usually mean a change in our life or a change in the world. We cannot hope for transformation and wait for change to bring us different outcomes.

I always looked at change as an external factor that we embrace or refute. Real change actually comes from within, be it change in our lives or change in the world. Challenges are not external; they are internal. As we start seeing the source of our personal and world problems more clearly, we begin to understand how to best affect change. As we seek to move beyond our conflicts and obstacles, we need to turn to our thought patterns, our behaviours – not that of our neighbours; our own! The way we always look at things, the way we choose the same path day after day, year after year, our way of life will make sure we meet the same results over and over again.

It takes courage to see the root of your challenges sitting within yourselves. It takes bravery to question your choices, to uproot your ways of thinking and to seek innovation. These perspectives may have served you well. They may no longer be meeting your needs today. You are changing just as fast as the world is, but you may not realize it and continue to feed yourself with the old stories and dress with your childhood clothes: they no longer fit! You are the change you wish to see. The results you are seeking are closer than you think.

The key to making change is to accept that we are the change and to embrace ourselves fully. Massive transformation is afoot in our world, as a result of a tiny change – a change in perspective. Changing one thing can actually change everything. It only takes a new glance at the world. It is no longer possible to stand up to the acceleration of change, but it only takes a blink of an eye to be riding that wave.

 

Allow ourselves to shine

Early on as human beings, we have to choose whether life is a struggle or whether it is essentially loving. Our choice will determine the belief system that guides us through life. We all face at some point dark moments wanting to hide from the world and crawl under a rock. We all experience being hurt, angry, in fear, or simply weary of the world. Some of us go in hiding, become invisible to eventually realize that we are essentially hiding from ourselves, fighting our own demons. Others choose the light, stepping out of misery to serve the world.

We may also decide to serve the world – and ourselves for that matter – from a place of support or in opposition, depending on our perspective in life. We can promote peaceful relations or speak out in opposition to conflicts. At first glance, this may seem to aim for the same thing but the two paths could not be further apart, leading to a very different quality of life. One is inspiring change through optimism and affirmation; the other is offering a path of challenges scaring people into action. The latter may seem easier as you only have to stand up and speak out in opposition, whereas inspiring others requires developing new ideas and mustering the courage to table them for others to consider. However, the universe will respond to new ideas by expanding the realm of the possible and lightening up the path. It will get into a contracting mode when faced with opposition, and block any potential change. The forces unleashed are dramatically opposed.

When we hide and make believe that we are invisible, we let our fears get the best of us, but more importantly we diminish the potential invested in ourselves and deprive others of the unique gifts and talents we are meant to share with the world. Our stories are not ours. They are meant to be shared. We are all meant to radiate our own brilliance and lighten up the world. When we shine our light we help others get beyond their fears and shine as well. It is our personal responsibility to share our light with our community, lead the way, and let the world catch fire.

The world will only be at peace when you are at peace with yourself

There are so many reasons why the world is in turmoil and so few recipes to bring it to a peaceful place. In reality there is only one reason to account for this dire state: we are not at peace ourselves. We feel compelled to blame disorder and chaos in the world on our fellow citizens or global circumstances over which we believe we have no control. Our own disorder seems of little relevance, and yet there will never be any peace in the outside world until we have created peace within. The roots of the problem are firmly entrenched in our own selves.

Where should we start when assessing our own relationship to peacefulness? Should we seek help on the outside or search within? More often than not, we rely on others, on experts’ account to help us interpret what may be wrong with us. We certainly cannot all be psychologists, physicians, teachers to show us the way to healing and enlightenment. The input of specialists is undeniably valuable, but in reality our own sense of the path is ultimately the most important piece. Our own inner knowing and processing of external help is fundamental to healing. We are the authorities in our own lives, and we have the final say on what is our reality. Yet we tend to let others decide for us where the problem lies and what is the cure. We abdicate our own responsibility, often unaware or not trusting enough our inner knowing. As we learn to relate to what surrounds us from within, we discover an inner sense of what is right and a resonance between the outside and the inside – a harmonious and peaceful experience of integration that brings us and the universe closer, stronger, more engaged, and interrelated with a greater ability to make a difference.

Once we have become aware of this special connection between the universe and ourselves and have found the path to manifest externally what is firmly anchored in ourselves, we can share with family and friends, inspiring our communities and the whole wide world. The first step, though, is looking within and choosing the more peaceful resonance over the negative vibrations and chaotic experiences that the world will become a more peaceful place.

The world belongs to surfers

The world is in turmoil, making waves up high, crashing bottom low. Riding the waves is the name of the game: alert, standing in the present with our eyes cast on the next wave, going with the flow, offering no resistance. The flow may take us to a place in the world where we would rather not be. Fear would affect our balance and prevent us from negotiating the next move. Resistance may be tempting given the direction and size of the wave we see the world taking, but there is only one way—forward.

There is also time for stillness, being alert, centred, and awake to the next move with full intent.

The world is dynamic and fast changing, and resisting will get us bounced, pulled under by its weight. In resisting we lose control over our destiny. Staying still, in the balance, riding the low point with no fear of reaching low bottom is the only way to ride and catch the next wave with its full energy. Waste no effort in resisting the flow; we need the energy to move forward.

A new wave of terrorism is taking us to a place in the world where we would rather not be. It is very tempting to react in opposition to recent attacks, given their magnitude and the direction this is taking. However, practicing stillness rather than resisting the wave may be the best way to act—standing still to leap forward, staying above water to ultimately catch the next move, trusting life flow to take us where we need to go.

Trusting life flow is not about inaction. It is about seizing the right moment to move forward with minimal effort, carried by the energy of the wave. We have a hard time being in stillness given the history of mankind, essentially embedded in struggle, control, instead of trust and collaboration with the universe.

To be sure, struggle and control of our environment has served humanity well by protecting ourselves and allowing us to survive and grow as a civilization. There is, however, a limit always to how much we can control. To create anew we need to align with the universe and let go of the old rather than resist. This requires trust. It is not the blind trust that everything will be fine. It comes from the full awareness that it can go well, but it can also go badly. This trust stems from the understanding that we cannot take the next wave alone, needing the energy of the next wave – the guiding hand of the universe – to carry us forward. This is a creative partnership with the universe whereby we rely on its force to propel us forward, while it responds to our thoughts and intentions.