So you want something to happen?
Are you prepared for what it might require?
It would be nice if life were linear where one event lead to another and we could predict with certainty our futures. But life doesn’t work that way.
I just spent several days with some beautiful folks who are about the business of changing our world. We hunkered down in a special space just east of the Rocky Mountains. There was a stuffed bald eagle on display that you’re not allowed to touch. If you do, the feathers fall out. We didn’t touch it. I promise.
Our mission was to give form to something that hasn’t yet existed. We had three days to do it. I observed as my two fellow campers spilled their hearts and minds onto whiteboards and post-its. There were moments when I was distressed. It seemed overwhelming. How was I going to make sense of all this “randomness?” My head hurt. I felt tired. I wasn’t sure what to do.
I stuck with it anyway. So did my friends. Boy, am I glad we did.
We punched out just in time with the result we were committed to before we began. Even though we didn’t know what we were creating as we were doing it. Our sense of exhaustion was eclipsed by the hope of a new future that now had a name. This never could of happened if we weren’t willing to wallow in the “chaos.”
Here are a few reasons why I love these two people:
- They’re willing to be uncomfortable.
- They’re willing to allow the time and space required for the pattern to emerge.
- Their love for all of us binds their commitment with their courage.
I know you want the answers. I know you’d prefer them to come neatly packaged with no assembly required. But that’s not how life works. Life isn’t linear. Life is chaotic. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a pattern waiting to emerge. It means it’s bigger than you. It will take time. It won’t make sense until one day it does.
Be open.Allow for the order to take shape. Expect the discomfort that proceeds the breakthrough.
Stick around long enough and you’ll see.
(Thanks to Roger and Laree for your extreme sense of trust. Thanks to Judy and Ruth for your generous love. Thanks to Kyler, Brother Dan, Ray, Sue, Katie, Elizabeth, Roberto and Sandy for rounding it all out.)
