The good leader is he whom the people revere. The great leader is he of whom the people say, "We did it ourselves." - Lao-Tzu
These musings are intended to provoke us to consider the state of the world and our place in it. These threads of thought are the result of years of curiosity, subsequent confusion, and succeeding clarity. It is our hope that we, as a diverse global citizenry, commune around similar inquiries, challenging ourselves by pushing into the limits of what we do not understand, thus shaking ourselves free of some of the ties that bind us.
How do we act in the world, informed by the texture of existence, while maintaining equanimity? How do we live and work with things we don’t understand? How do we enact a better future while holding our agenda lightly?
In a world of increasing complex problems, we need simple and elegant solutions—easy to say, difficult to embody. Paradoxically, our action in the world seems to require both great surrender and great effort. Historically, it has been challenging to create social containers of embodied and strategic action, yet the impulse to create innovative ways of working with our universal interdependence is happening. It is a result of necessity.
Patterns of the past remain, thus many of our solutions are band-aids on samurai cuts. We need reactive, adaptive, and creative responses. Action is analogous with perception. In a world torn with confusion and ambiguity, we desire clarity of purpose and meaning.
We find ourselves amidst a world of pain and suffering. Hearts closed off and minds checked out. We look around and see many people talking the talk, but not walking the walk. We look ourselves in the mirror and wonder if we are the same. Talks loud, says nothing.
We are asked to become soft again. We are asked to open to the experience of the stunning situation of ourselves in the world. We are asked to dig deeper. We ask difficult questions. We listen quietly and carefully. From this silence arises clarity of action and purpose.
What is skillful action? How do we fully engage our beauty, creativity, and potential in the world in such a way that the light of our truth ignites others to engage their own unique being? How are we a vehicle for transformation within ourselves, with others, and with the world?
If we agree that we live in an interdependent world, than certainly the solutions to our global problems are not linear. Ultimately, there may be no direct causation, but there do seem to be processes of causation. In this way “solutions” are not found by tracking the patterns of the past, nor are they found by forecasting into the future. They exist right now, in this very moment as all things. It is this wisdom that we call upon.
How might we as individuals and as societies craft our solutions to meet the challenges that face us in this moment, while remaining open to shift our strategy the very next moment? We are invited to stay in the present- from here we meet each circumstance with spaciousness and instantaneous resolve. We may rest in the spirit of curiosity and take refuge in the knowledge of the teachings passed down through many generations. It seems to be a tremendous leap to acknowledge the collective intelligence residing within us. We must be fearless and bold. Our future must not be sold to us in the shape of preconceptions. We must move fast and learn quickly. We must speak plainly and honestly. We must laugh in the face of it all. We must be joyful in a world of pain, untold atrocities, and squandered potential. We must soak up the beauty that surrounds us in all of its forms. This is the world in which we live, and within which we are called to contribute. Let us descend into the cavernous depths of our hearts. Let us unify our spirits in skillful and wise action. Let us support and challenge one another to become more fully what we already are.