Key Point: Find what you’re seeking in others and elsewhere in yourself first.
“I must know that I am, at least in part, the very thing I am seeking.” In fact, that is what makes me seek it! As St. Augustine also profoundly expressed, “What you seek is what you are.”
This first quote is from Fr. Richard Rohr, one smart Franciscan who operates at a much higher level than I can ever aspire to. The second from the above mentioned mystic, St. Augustine. While this blog is totally secular and work focused, I do occasionally refer to traditional religions for insight. In this case, Fr. Richard and Augustine remind us to emphasize that we most often already have what we are seeking. It’s a matter of digging deeply into understanding our emotions and behavior to find it.
This thinking is a foundational premise of my blog. I believe it’s very difficult to lead others without being able to lead yourself first. As an example, if we want to be able to inspire others, we first have to be inspired. If we want to respect and listen better, first we must find that within ourselves. When we want others to be more accountable, we must show the way by being first and foremost self-accountable. When we cherish authenticity, we must have the courage to be authentic. And so on.
Every New Year, of course, is a time for most of us to reflect and seek more. In our “Knew Year” blog, we encouraged investing in a self-development process to help with that. In parallel, we want to remind ourselves that while we can and should seek insight from others, there is the wisdom of ages in the quotes above. That is, recognize that you and I are already what we’re seeking. Let’s go find it and expose it more.
Character Moves:
- Recognize that for most of us, a personal dig is hard. We have to be very curious in understanding why we think, feel and do. That’s challenging work. Very few of us are taught how to do that. Often, we build a think veneer and just chug along. Be curious and really be better at digging into to yourself to find what we’re seeking is already there.
Seeking what you are in The Triangle,
Lorne
One Millennial View: Twice this week. Two times. I’ve been sitting watching “Making a Murderer” (like everyone else on the planet, it seems)… While sucked into this show, I briefly thought to myself that I COULD (probably should) do ___, ___, ___ instead. All those ___ options would be more pertinent and useful activities towards finding and building upon what I’m “seeking.” Nope. Roll, Netflix, roll. Now that I’m finished with the show, I hope I can be as interested and devoted to pursuing what I seek, as that latest must-stream phenomenon you can’t seem to turn off.
– Garrett
Edited and published by Garrett Rubis