Theodore Roethke — Being, not doing

I must confess that being is very difficult for me. For years I have been caught up in the culture of doing — setting goals and working to achieve those goals. I find it very difficult to sit and just be. I must at the very least doodle. If I go on vacation, it often takes me a week to relax and forget my day job. But I still feel I must be doing something. Write. Draw. Read. Produce something of value. Rarely can I just be.  I simply cannot sit and doing nothing.  My thoughts continue to flow.

How about you? Are you caught up in the culture of doing or have you learned like Roethke to enjoy just being?

Here is my favorite Theodore Roethke poem. I love the first three lines. This is a poem to be read out loud. Listen to the interaction of sounds.

The Waking

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

I learn by going where I have to go.

William Thackeray — Reflection

This is a very profound statement by the English novelist, William Thackeray. The world that we see is a reflection of ourselves. 

I tell a story in my seminars about a little girl who lives in the mountains with her parents. One day the little girl has a fight with her mother and she runs out of the house. When she reaches the edge of the cliff, she stops and yells at the top of her voice: "I hate you. I hate you." 

To the girl's surprise she hears a voice shouting back at her: "I hate you. I hate you." This frightens the little girl and she runs back into the house and tells her mother that someone out there hates her. 

Her mother realizing what happened tells her young daughter to go back outside and shout, "I love you." The little girl tiptoes back outside and nervously tiptoes to the edge of the cliff. She calls out: "I love you. I love you." Echoing back out of the valley, she hears the words, "I love you. I love you." 

 The message is quite clear: what we send out is what we get back.  What we expect to find in the world is what we find. If we think the world is a negative, hostile place where our enemies are seeking to destroy us, we will find examples to prove our world view.

If we think the world is helpful and supportive, we will find examples to prove our vision of the world. The world we see is a reflection of the person we are. Have you looked in the mirror lately? What kind of person do you see?

Linus Pauling — Curiosity

Are you curious about the world around you? Are you searching for new information and ideas? Are you asking questions and looking for answers? Are you challenging the status quo? Do you doubt what people accept at truth? 

Do you question the world around you? Do you ask: why? how? when? where? Do you challenge the assumptions of others? Do you challenge your own assumptions? Do you challenge your beliefs? Do you question your habits? Or do you simply accept what was taught you? 

Do you accept without question the statements of experts? Do you question what you read in the newspaper or hear on television? Are you willing to think differently than those around you? Do you hang out with people who think like you do? Or do you surround yourself with people who think differently than you?

Creative leaders seek out new ideas and new ways of seeing the world. We need and want answers to our questions. Part of our thrill in life is learning something new — figuring out something we didn't know.

Creative leaders need a strong sense of curiosity about the world they inhabit. They should not satisfied with the pat answers of the past. The challenge is in finding new answers to some of the age old questions.

Anwar el Sadat - Fear

Many years ago I read these words in In Search of An Identity, the autobiography of Anwar el Sadat, President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981, and since then I have been sharing his words with my audiences in my motivational speeches on leadership.

Fear is a powerful tool for destroying the soul of a person and the spirit of a creative artist. Rulers have used it for centuries and so have parents. "You better behave or the bogeyman will get you."

Ask yourself what you are afraid of? What fears control your actions? What fears are holding you back? Are you afraid of snakes? Heights? Success? Math? A blank piece of paper? Silence? A blank canvas? The neighbor's dog?

In 1972 I was traveling through the western United States and decided to visit a mentor from my childhood who was living in British Columbia, Canada at the time. Ernie was a lumberjack turned minister and missionary.  He had been the camp director of a Bible camp that I had attended every summer from the age of ten until high school.  He was physically a very strong man.  He could grab a pole with both hands and raise his legs in the air until they were parallel with the floor much like a flag.

I spent a couple of weeks with him in the Canadian Rockies.  One time he took a group of us on a two-day canoe ride on a large lake.  I saw from a distance a grizzly bear fishing for salmon.  On our way home we encountered fog and lost our way.  After going in a circle a couple of times, Ernie stopped the canoes and asked us to bow our heads in prayer.  Despite his strength, Ernie knew that he could not let fear conquer him so he turned to God, the one source of strength that he knew.  

Creative leaders must learn to shake off the chains of fear. Fear can prevent us from taking risks, trying new ideas, exploring new ways of thinking. Each of us must find the courage to do what we desire to do despite our fears.

Robert Henri — Education

I believe that each of us is in charge of our own education. We choose what we want to learn and what we don't want to learn. Even in the best of schools, students fail because they don't apply themselves. And in the worst of schools, students still graduate and go on to accomplish great things. Yes, a teacher can inspire you and mentor you, but in the end you are responsible for your own education.

And I believe learning is a life-long process. When a person stops learning, he stops living. What are you doing to further your education in your chosen field? What are you exploring outside your field of expertise? When was the last time your read a new book? Or talked to a stranger? Or developed a new habit?

This past June I attended a 3 day workshop on the art of Zentangle in Providence, Rhode Island.  I had been studying Zentangle by reading books since 2012.  The workshop increased my understanding of the unique art form in ways I am only beginning to understand.  Books sometimes can take you only so far.  You need to experience and explore the subject in other ways.  

Zentangle #221

A few years ago,  I met a minister who had lived for fifteen years in Japan. I learned about his life as a minister and living in Japan. He shared how he had witnessed the cremation of a dead person. The Japanese custom is to wash the body and then have it cremated. The family gathers at the crematory to witness the burning of the body. Then the family is given a portion of the ashes and bones in a small box and the remainder are buried in the ground. I learned something new by listening and asking questions.

Creative leaders need to be constantly learning new things. What have you learned recently that you can incorporate into your writing or painting or acting?

Marquis de Vauvenargues — Great Thoughts

The heart is powerful, intelligent and intuitive. Most of us have been taught that our intelligence resides in our brain, but this is only partially true. Logical and analytical thinking occurs in the brain. Intuitive, sensitive and compassionate thinking occurs in the heart. 

 Often, though, we let our brain override our heart. We need to learn to listen to voice of our heart as it reveals a deeper truth. Reason may dominate our thinking, but compassion should govern our actions. While the brain is busy analyzing the options, the heart knows intuitively what road to take.

Years of experience have taught me that my heart knows the answer often before the brain has finished its analysis. I have learned that it is better to trust the small voice inside my heart then the loud voice inside my head. Do you trust your intuition? Are you listening to the voice within your heart?

Walter Inglis Anderson — Risk

Life is about taking chances. Risk is a key part of success. And, I think, most creative leaders understand this. The very nature of creativity is risk taking. In order to create something new, we have to break down old patterns and rebuild in a different way. But if we are being honest with ourselves, we must admit that we do not take risks in every area of our lives. 

I, for one, will not risk my financial stability and security. I am an intellectual risk taker. I will explore new ideas and new ways of thinking. I will question my beliefs and those of others, but I am not an entrepreneur. I will not gamble the financial security of my family and myself. I will take risks with my writing and my art, but I won't risk my relationships with my family and friends.

Where do you draw the line? What are you not willing to risk? I am not willing to risk my money. If I gamble at a casino, I am only willing to lose five dollars. I work too hard for my money to throw it way.

Anderson is right. The most difficult risk is being honest with ourselves, admitting our failures and our weaknesses. What are your blind spots? What are you not willing to admit to yourself or to others? What do you want to keep hidden from the world? It takes courage to be honest with yourself. To face your fears and failures and honestly assess your weaknesses.