Working Meditation

Observations on Human Connection & Contribution

Home » Archives for July 2021 » Page 2

Archives for July 2021

#44: Changing perspectives

We’re often advised to see things from a different perspective when opening up to creativity or while building figurative bridges with others. I have a non-strategic and a somewhat delightful example of the usefulness of perspective shifts.

I sometimes play the New York Times Spelling Bee, a puzzle in which one tries to make words from a set of seven unique letters which are set in hexagonal tiles, with one tile at the center surrounded by six tiles touching each side of the central hexagon. The center letter needs to be used at least once for each word. It’s a simple and fun word game with one important feature: players can press a button to shuffle the six outside tiles. I can’t emphasize enough how useful this one feature is in making the game enjoyable and less-taxing. I’ve noticed repeatedly that the press of this button all but guarantees that when the tiles land in their new random spots, they will fire new mental links and words will pop out more easily. Every time I get stuck, I shuffle as a first line of defense and I am offered the gift of a new word. All I have to do is rotate the tiles and I naturally start seeing words that I didn’t before.

Although we don’t have an easeful button to “shuffle the tiles” in real life, we have endless ways to move ourselves if we so desire. We can expose ourselves to new stimuli through information, environments, and activities. We can also see life’s inevitable changes as this shuffle function. However, the key to gaining a new perspective is to engage in active observation and not unconscious motion. We can think like a designer and observe the environment with specific intent. We can dislodge stuck thoughts by engaging in the new stimuli while keeping the core questions we’re considering top of mind. There are countless threads to decipher in any environment and a focused inquiry helps us hone in on the relevant themes. We can think like a designer, or a Spelling Bee player looking for new words.

“Perspectives are like batteries. You can see the positive or the negative, and they’ll keep you charged up, if you replace them often enough.”― Curtis Tyrone Jones

#43: The courage of idealism and hope

Let’s level set first by defining what I mean by an idealist. Dictionary definition: one that places ideals before practical considerations. Given current zeitgeist I should also add that to me an idealist is someone that engages in meaningful action (even if private) and not just talk, and isn’t driven by the need for excessive public adulation. With that out of the way, let’s proceed.

Most people will tell you that they hope for a future that is kinder, more inclusive, equitable, and abundant and yet we use the word idealist as a slight against those that dare to dream and care; as a shorthand to say that this person doesn’t understand the realities of life. In a culture over indexing on the immediate, anything that doesn’t guarantee a short to mid-term outcome is considered a waste. We forget that these idealists, optimists and visionaries see the same broken parts, feel the same sadness and distress that we do and instead of becoming cynical, closed and selfish, they choose the expansiveness of hope.

Humans have instincts to leave the world better than we found it, but we are also instinctively self-protective, tribal and prone to othering. When this instinct for self-protection mixes with the awareness of our fundamental fragility, it creates a push towards selfish and short-term thinking. We become incapable of imagining a future that doesn’t have us in it and because we crave to experience the gains of our labor, we try to bring that more abundant future to us…sometimes by stealing from it. This manifests in us creating business models that become sustainable only by ignoring ethical considerations, products that destroy precious natural ecosystems, supply chains that dehumanize those that we don’t come in personal contact with, user interfaces that spool people in threads of addiction and consumption that they find hard to untangle from.  When this fear-based part of us wins, we also create divisions and hierarchies that further feed the instinct for self-protection―sexism, elitism, racism, ageism to name a few.

There is no “they” that inflicts these pains, it is “we” that do. And humans will continue inflicting hurt in one way or another till we roam the planet. I’m not making harsh judgments, I’m trying to be as clear-sighted as I am capable of being. Given certain circumstances, conditioning, information or lack thereof, each of us―me included―is capable of contraction, of harming, hating, picking up arms and thinking short-term. And each of us is also capable of expansion, of caring, empathizing, nurturing and loving.

We have a choice in what parts of humanity we feed. When we beat on idealism and hope or when we other someone instead of engaging in dialogue to understand their worldview and realities, we feed the destructive side of humanity. With all that is stacked against us, isn’t it better for us to embrace hope, idealism and thoughtful engagement rather than kick those in the shins who had to muster unusual courage to stand on wobbly legs to lead and support the rest of us to a better future. So lets pause before our next mental eye-roll and instead provide the idealist with missing information, context and practical realities to fill their knowledge gaps. If they miss the mark, let’s not jump in and question their judgment to make ourselves look smarter or more informed. Let’s engage them in conversation and concern not combat.

“…hope…I understand above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world. Either we have hope within us or we don’t…Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons…

Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. The more unpromising the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper that hope is. Hope is not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. In short, I think that the deepest and most important form of hope, the only one that can keep us above water and urge us to good works, and the only true source of the breathtaking dimension of the human spirit and its efforts, is something we get, as it were, from ‘elsewhere.’ It is also this hope, above all, that gives us the strength to live and continually to try new things, even in conditions that seem as hopeless as ours do, here and now.” ― Vaclav Havel

#42: 1324

“Two steps forward, one step back” is a common lament when we feel we aren’t making progress fast enough, especially while trying something new. Since I’m embedded in the newness of several activities, I’ll share some observations from the trenches that I hope will help reframe this phrase.

The path of new isn’t organized like a treadmill on a predictable incline, it is more similar to a hike―with varied terrains, turns, inclines, dips, fallen tree-branches, muddy slopes, and waterfalls with slippery rocks. You can be prepared with maps, equipment and input from others but until you encounter a specific hurdle under specific conditions, you won’t fully know what part of yourself you’ll need to resource. Even with all the preparation, there will be times when you need to pause and take a moment to figure out your next step. These moments are not a loss of momentum; they are more like walking around the circumference of a new roadblock for thoughtful assessment, to understand how you might effectively move forward with grace. These pauses are crucial in being able to continue, otherwise we run the risk of injuring ourselves and needing to opt-out.

The “step back” is not necessarily a slippage, it can be a moment to grasp the bird’s-eye view right before swan diving into the work with gusto.

“All still lies ahead of you…be patient towards all that is unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms, like books written in a foreign tongue.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke