It is difficult...until you decide to be thankful :)

 

I have been out of sorts over the last couple of weeks. It is almost as if I am on a see-saw between my thoughts and my body and they cannot function at the same time? I feel uncomfortable in my own skin....tired, irritable....like I'm waiting for something great to happen to steer me in a new direction.

At least my earthly companions are also not themselves, but most of them have not realised it yet :) Last week, a woman walked straight into my car at the stop street, dropped her coffee on her shoes and said sorry to me (?) only to stumble on the side-walk. Everybody has migraine's and are tired...It feels like everything is speeding up and we are speeding towards...whatever.

So, I have decided to slow this day down, to mark it by listing the things I am thankful for:

- That I can take time out to enjoy life
- I luuurrrvvvee Thursday yoga classes - it is even better when I am joined by Veniets and JC
- I am thankful that JC tolerates the half-words and confusing sentences and broken crockery. (No, I am not throwing it around, I am dropping everything!?)
- I am thankful that my one coffee plunger has survived the onslaught
- For beautiful, gentle and loving friendships
- For my handy-man replacing all the light bulbs that also seemed to be making an exit lately
- For all the lovely weekends in Wildernis, Grotto, Paternoster, Kalkbay and Struisbaai...
- For Sunday night healing sessions created by Caroline - they are life changing
- For MJ thinking of me to work with
- For being able to coach very special people
- For financial independence
- For love in my life...lots of it :)

Sjoe, I have only just begun.
This is a great way to change perspective on what is really important...
my new exercise for down-days!

Leading with Grace

This is one of my most avid passions....trying to live with more grace in this world. This is a term we associate with the feminine, but I would like to think it refers to being conscious of how we tread and touch our fellow travelers on this earth.

In the last two decades I worked with only a handful of people whom I would consider to be great leaders, with very few of them being women. As is often the case, in order to survive, and because our teachers and sponsors are often male, we loose our natural grace and femininity, which is a wonderful part of being a woman. It is also, in my opinion, one of the elements sorely lacking in the Corporate world. It is ironic that there are so few women in top leadership positions in the world. Prime Ministers, Governors, Premiers, CEO's and (help us) Presidents are mostly male. Not only because they are outvoted or patronised through employment equity numbers from both genders, but because there is a choice to be made: Who said we can have it all at once...a career and a happy family! They lied! Something, or someone has to give...mostly the wife, but sometimes the (house) husband, or sometimes it has to be a timing thing - But the piper must be paid. Hence the accounts from women at the top are often, if truth be told, a very sore and solitary tale of glamorous editorials and lonely celebrations.

In this left-brain dominated, winner-takes-all world, which often looks at the short term results, the money, the quick fixes, I think a softer and more sustainable hand is required in building relationships and connecting people. I feel blessed that grace comes naturally to women. I would hate to conclude that in order to reach the top, we have to hide, or shed any notion of these "labels". It would be a sacrilege to ban women from the Directorships or keep them in HR or Marketing, or in Operations where, strangely they gain invaluable experience in building relationships by managing all the "lower level staff" and interestingly, are often very close to the customer! This makes us immensely knowledgeable... if we could only make ourselves be heard in the Boardrooms. I know, now I am projecting :)

Yesterday I saw this article and was again reminded that there should be more compelling reasons to have more women in leadership positions than to balance the HR numbers. They should be darn good at what they do, they should bring the balance, the "other perspective", the sustainable factor that comes with with being a natural negotiater and nurturer. They must assist to make companies and the world a better place...They MUST have grace.

bloomberg.com - Companies with women on their boards performed better in challenging markets than those with all-male boards in a study suggesting that mixing genders may temper risky investment moves and increase return on equity.

I say let the real reason for having women shine - I say hooray to all who choose to lead with grace!

 

Also read the following article from Edith Sievers on Women and the Bottom Line:

http://www.usb-ed.com/Blog/Women-and-the-Bottom-Line-Myths-Mysteries-and-Milestones?utm_source=EDFocus35

Perspective please!

And Tamund and Jung many others throughout history concurred!

But why is it so difficult to see other people's stories and their truths? For me, this is one of the most important steps in becoming mindful: To be able to see the different sides of the picture.

I have worked with many great people, but very few great leaders and one of the things that always pops up (except for ego - we are talking power here!) is lack of perspective.

Without perspective at work, we lack the ability to truly appreciate and harness diversity. We become less of what we can be, by only surrounding us with like-minded individuals, who see the same problems, issues and risks and maybe not all the opportunities out there. It makes us less likely to be inclusive in decision making, less able to feed back why we chose one course of action above another. And definitely out of touch with many of our employees, and more importantly, our customers. Perspective is key when dealing with change. It is the one thing which enables us to answer the WHY question, as it can clarify the reasons for the decision from every angle. It is the basis of systems thinking, it helps with strategy in creating scenario's etc. etc.

At home, perspective is all about assisting to really connect with friends and loved ones. By having their perspective on things, we are able to really communicate effectively in the way that makes us "get" each other. It helps to move from emotional states to a place where we can engage on the issue whilst witnessing each others points of view... It makes us better human beings.

It is just so hard because perspective suggests letting go of our own, to take flight and see the picture from above, rather than standing on the ground and voicing our own perspective only. There is the misunderstanding that perspective means loosing our own opinion. I think we definitely still need to make up our minds about which way to go, but in those initial stages of evaluating our options, it is invaluable to have perspective on the issue. Not to make impulsive and hasty decisions based on emotions and ego only. It also means we have to be open to listen...it is very difficult. And even worse, able to take true feedback from others! All very scary stuff, but in my experience, very, very much worth it.

So, this morning I open my eyes with expectation...my meditation for today....perspective please!