The three essays which comprise this
Leadership
trilogy aren't about The
Leadership Courseper se. Neither do they purport to authoritatively
recreate
any of the underlying abstracts of it or any of the specific ideas
disseminated in it or any of the distinctions distinguished in it.
In this, the now forty second year of the
conversation for
transformation
we are, ever-expanding in and around
the world,
we speak a lot about a certain way of being, a way of being which is
distinct from
thinking,
distinct from
interpreting,
distinct from
opining.
This way of being is simply
standing,
looking into the space,
observing
whatever's there, then saying ie discovering whatever's
there.
This manner of communication ie this aspect of complete and total and
full
Self-expression
is literally - starting with where I'm
standing
- the
shortest possible distance
between two points.
In saying whatever's there without detouring via
thinking,
without detouring via
interpreting,
and without detouring via
opining,
I cross the gap in front of me as fast as it's possible to do so,
eschewing
the longer, circuitous, rambling routes of
thinking,
interpreting,
and
opining.
It's the pragmatic way of being in
the world.
It's always available. It's a direct access to
distinguishing
what works
in Life. And
what works
in Life, once distinguished, calls forth the possibility of living my
life aligned with it.
What gets in the way of
what worksshowing up
all by itself (which is to say what gets in the way of discovering
what worksshowing up
all by itself) ... is you (I include myself in this
generalized you - it's all of us). It's an easy mistake to make:
looking for
what works
in Life itself, without first looking at ie without first getting clear
about what doesn't
work
in my own life. That's what gets in the way.
The world
is always mauve to those who wear mauve tinted spectacles (unknowingly
or knowingly), and it's not to those who don't.
It's one thing
observing
the apple falling from the tree and, by saying what I'm
observing,
discovering
gravityworks.
It's a phenomenon which plays out clearly on the
big screen
right in front of my eyes, is easy to look at, and is easy to get. It's
a thing of an entirely different order, to look at and to get what
doesn't
work
in my own life.
What doesn't
work
in my own life, doesn't always play out on a clear
screen.
What doesn't
work
in my own life, isn't always easy to look at. And the thing about it is
it's essential for me to be clear about whatever doesn't
work
in my own life before I attempt to take on the greater issue of
what works
in Life itself. I can look at the apple falling from the tree,
unhurrying. But to accurately
observe
whatever doesn't
work
in my own life, I have to look unflinching.
In the inquiry which fleshes out
workability
ie in the inquiry which fleshes out what
works
(that's
workability
as a generality, as an abstract), when you can tell me what
doesn't
work
in your own life, you're halfway there. Then, on that platform, when
you can tell me
what works
in Life itself, that's the other half (as
Werner Erhard
may have said). Oh, and speaking
authentically?
You must tell me each half in that order.