Breathe

Because when we fly our wings are our lungs and every breath takes us higher. We dream of this when we wake in the morning and work at it during the day. Every thought becomes translucent as it is washed in the heart of our desire and desire fills our heart.

It is unimaginable to even think of another reality beyond that which our imagination can grasp. We are one body filled with light, shining on the mountains of adversity. We are and no-one can rob us of the purposeful destiny that we linger on and cultivate unto eternity.

This is a fleeting moment where truth is a fragrance that fills my nostrils and to which I return when I close my eyes. A mystery I weave with words; a delight in the nothingness of me. Again and again I ask where does the light come from? Where does the torment and frustration find its root and how does this enable the light to shine. In the depths of darkness there is an elusive light that leads my footsteps into the heart of darkness where who I was is unmasked and the lungs inside me find there wings.

The Struggle, The Victory



I do believe that most of you have noticed that growth is not the result of glorious days in the sun on a holiday island somewhere in the Caribbean. Up till now I have gone through certain times in my life when I can clearly see the growth occurring and feel my roots grow deeper and stronger. What I have also realised is that these times are normally marked by a fair amount of struggle and frustration. It strongly reminds me of Revans axiom: “for any organization to survive, its rate of learning must be equal to, or greater than, the rate of change in the environment”. So... when the challenges come I need to learn.

The key for me so far has been to be pro-active. There is a gap between stimulus and response and in my opinion it is how we step into this gap that defines us. I guess it comes down to what your heart is set on because that is what will guide you through the tough times. This question always comes to me during my tough times: Why do I persist on this path; what is the reward? What kind of fruit do I want to have in my life because of the effort that I have put in? I believe that this is yet another question that is not asked enough in our society and when the answers come they are self-centred and short-sighted. I ask myself who are the real role-models? Who stands out in history? The ones that come easily to mind for me are the ones that knew the value of self-sacrifice: Mandela, Mother Theresa, Jesus, etc.

I aspire to be like these people but the challenge is truly a phenomenal task. Yet again I sit in front of my computer today pondering a growth challenge and whether this is the right route. I do believe it is quite possible to choose a path of sacrifice that leads nowhere. When and how the sacrifice is made is of key importance!

Who am I?

Well...I thought that this question can go to bed for a while. I was wrong. I hope you ask this question from time to time. I think sometimes I ask this too much; I ask allot of questions and sometimes too much. In some circles this is called analysis paralysis. Keep questioning and you come to a point where the questions bog you down. Stuck in the quicksand and the more you struggle the more you sink in.

Yet, at the other end of the spectrum I believe there are more people that don't make a concentrated effort to "know thyself" according to the ancient Greek aphorism. The challenge is to ask questions about yourself; allow yourself to be challenged about your paradigm and the underlying assumptions - "an unexamined life is not worth living" - Socrates (picture of dead guy above).

Why are we so obsessed with creating BIGGER, better, and more advanced everything. What does it mean to develop, grow, live?! I believe we do not truly live within and the result is an obsessive drive to master everything that we touch as if to redeem ourselves. What we truly hunger is to know ourselves and no amount of worldly success can ever make up for that!

The Family: The Most Profound Change Agent

I am not a father yet and my family at this stage consists only of me and my wife. I do believe however that I am already the father that I will be. In other words, I don't become a father when our first child is born. My fatherly orientation should already be present.

The interesting distinction in the Afrikaans language between extended family and the nucleus family I find very useful. In Afrikaans there are in fact two different words: "familie" which translates to 'extended family' and "gesin" which is the nucleus family.

Some of you might ask why am I putting this kind of information on the web? Isn't this obvious stuff? I strongly believe in basics! Our world is structured in a way that does not pay attention to basics and I strongly believe that if we CALM DOWN and ask ourselves what is really important we can avoid allot of pain and suffering. I therefore strongly believe that if we get the basics right at home they are the same basics that we will need to make things better in the work place.

I will even go so far as to say that we need more fathers, and mothers, in the workplace. The reason I say this is that a real father, a real man, knows when to be disciplined and strict and when to acknowledge, praise and care. So in other words if you have men and women that know what it is to be a parent and fulfil their roles it will strengthen their position in their workplace.

The same goes for brothers and sisters. If we are taught how to maintain intimate, caring, and disciplined relationships with our siblings it will permeate in all other environments - the work place included. We should then be much better equipped to deal with people of the same age, younger, and older. We spend gazillions every year on professional education and training but how much do we spend on improving our family skills? Perhaps we should start at the root.

Sacrifice

I find myself regularly asking what should I be willing to sacrifice? Obviously the underlying question is for what or for whom should I be willing to sacrifice? Many people are willing to sacrifice for money; I'm not. I look for greater meaning in what I do - it has to make me a better man, husband, and father. If I cannot find the balance to create synergy I have to ask myself whether the sacrifices are for the right reason.

For this to be successful their is an assumption that I have to clarify and this is where it gets tough. I assume that I know what I want - do you? This is in fact a gap because too many times we ask ourselves this and the answer comes to easily. The question behind the question is what do I need? I have to distinguish between what is good for me and what is pleasant. Sometimes these overlap and sometimes they don't. The discipline is to chose that which I need above that which I want. Capitalism rewards those who can clearly articulate what they want and bend their whole being to achieve it and not necessarily those that can articulate what they need. It is sometimes harder work to do less.

I find myself in a corporate environment where there is clear pressure to meet deadlines and DELIVER! I would like to ask many of the people why. Why so big, why such a hurry, why, why, why? Don't get me wrong - work is good. I believe that if we become quiet and honest with ourselves we can save ourselves allot of pain through unnecessary sacrifice!