What is Depth?

I began a great conversation this week with James Krucik. James asks questions that get me thinking.

James and I met on Twitter, and he sent me an email that included a question: What is strategy? My short answer was that strategy translates depth and core values into focused action steps. Included in his reply was another question: What do you mean by depth? What an excellent question!

I suppose that my short answer would be that depth is where our core values start. Each of us has values and beliefs that reflect who we truly are. We each discover and understand our own values over time in various ways. The Depth is the source of those values and beliefs. It surrounds us and saturates our lives.

Some people understand the Depth as God, or the Sacred, or the Holy. Our experiences shape our perceptions and expectations, and we recognize the Depth, the Life Force, the Higher Power that inspires us.

Some people sense the presence of Depth more completely in nature, or in remote, sometimes desolate places. There is a strong tradition of this that includes Moses and the Burning Bush, Mohammed, the Buddha, and Jesus and his followers. Christian monastic life grows from an example of men and women who headed into the wilderness to discard the distractions of city life and spend their time exploring Depth.

For me, the Depth is the loving presence that feeds my soul. Even as I face challenges and struggle to learn hard lessons, as I work through pain and deep sorrow and loss, the Depth draws me.

The Depth is in the deepest, truest essence of me. Depth shapes my core and the desires of my heart.

What do you mean by depth?

Where are you most sure of the Depth?

[Image by SteveD.]