A Million Voices Freed:
Seeds of Excellence #3 - Leaders Listen Differently.
Robert Frost noticed something when he would take walks with his friend, fellow poet, Edward Thomas. Thomas would deliberate over which path they should take when they would come to a fork in the road, frequently regretting the path they were on.
This attitude of always looking back, at what "might" have been, was in essence the reason Frost wrote the poem; as a small joke to a dear friend. However, the wisdom in it is unmistakable.
The Road Not Taken
As you read, please have a listen to a wonderful piece of music called "Golden Butterflies" by composer Ludovico Einaudi from his album Seven Days Walking, Day 1.
It is possible you may be feeling like you have been walking for Seven Days, finding yourself still within the first day - at a fork in the road.
Perhaps by the end of this little blog, you may have found yourself in a place to be able to entertain the idea that perhaps, today calls you to listen differently.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
What do we prioritize when we are at the proverbial fork in the road between "spaces and places?"
Life has changed very quickly for our world consistently across the last 365 days. It is poised to continue to do so.
What do you prioritize when you are between "spaces and places?" Is this being "out of sorts" or are we simply being sorted?
This weekend, as I attended to my planning, I realized I was in two different places at the same time. Have you ever felt like that?
Conversation 1: Based on our old thinking, habits and to-do lists based on the past which calls us to stay on the same road.
Conversation 2: Based on that which is being conceived deeply within our souls that calls us to stop, to take a different path - the fork in the road.
I know I am not the only one in this space, with a great to-do list in hand, well-ordered - yet there is no resonance to it. It feels stale and flat. We can see that were we want to be is not where we are.
There is this inner push and momentum forward, but...we can't see what is in front of us. I remind myself and invite you to consider that though there is a feeling of blindness in these moments of duality, it does not mean we are not IN motion, headed exactly where we NEED to be.
It can be hard in this state to set priorities. I believe that is because we desire to set priorities the way we USED to, based on the way we were, based on OLD thinking.
Yet, we inherently know that should we persist in only doing the same things, we will never arrive at our new ways of being, nor speak into the new conversations and to-do lists which will perhaps create the greater purpose of what we have been called forth to do.
Do we do the things we USED to need to do, simply out of habit?
Or...do we RISE with courage, put a stake in the ground of faith and belief, setting priorities based on an inner leading which can look totally different?
It is possible to do BOTH, at the same time.
Some changes can be made gradually. Our vision comes from deep within us and takes time to emerge, much like a masterpiece of art, music or dance. It simmers. How hard to realize that we are called to SAVOR these moments of precious duality which are the catalysts to our re-birth.
Dual Courses of Gentle Action:
Do one thing today based on what we "think" we should, honoring what this present day has asked of us. These spaces keep diligence and productivity in place.
Allowed ourselves the space, and grace, to ease into flow state within the inner spaces we have been guided to. These are the spaces which will not match what we "think" we should be doing. These spaces allow something new to be born within us; to receive vision; to be called and to be called forth. Into what? New purpose.
Einstein Understood This Idea Best.
These new spaces require us to:
Be STILL.
To empty ourselves of old attachments and thoughts.
Listen QUIETLY.
Receive.
Allow ourselves to Conceive.
Be Patient.
Be Courageous.
Be Bold.
This is a new practice for 21st Century leaders faced with an external world which calls us to move faster than we possibly can move. Until we realize, that fast is a state of time and we have something beyond time within us which holds quiet, gentle and clear answers.
The question is, what road will you take today? Tomorrow? Is it time to listen differently? Is it time to lead differently?
Thinking Differently? A little more music for today.
Rise Today. Transform Tomorrow. Conversations of a Different Kind. A Million Voices Freed. Subscribe Today.
Mariam Haddad,
CEO & Founder
Excite. Engage. Ignite. Amplify℠
Sources:
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. The Poetry Foundation.
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