We hear people talk about a shortage of leadership. It as if we had mined all the leadership we could out of the earth and were running short. Traditional fossil leadership is expensive and will not get the job done. The leadership which will carry us into the future is renewable. Each of us has the potential to become our own, unique kind of leader. One step on the way we explore our leadership is learning how to renew our resources. Many traditional... Read more
My understanding of spiritual life, the ways I live it in the world, are shaped by my experiences. Some of my experiences are gained from my church. I am part of a liturgical church. One of the things we do is divide the year into liturgical seasons. This weekend we begin a new season, the first season in our liturgical year, called Advent. Advent is a season of preparation and anticipation. It is not the season of rushing through Thanksgiving dinner... Read more
We think of leaders as people who are focused on what needs to be done. Great leaders are not distracted by interpersonal conflict, politics, or physical obstacles. We depend on leaders to have a plan, foresee challenges, and find ways to put the plan in action. We expect our leaders to help us get where we want to go. We would like our leaders to be unflappable. We want to know our leaders cannot be shaken or caught off guard.... Read more
We often think of spiritual life as being ethereal, floating in the air like smoke. We assume spiritual life is theoretical, conceptual, vague, or even imaginary. The idea of spiritual life makes us a little uncomfortable. Spiritual life always seems to be just beyond our reach, outside our experience or understanding. For many of us, spiritual life is something from a time long ago, like magic or sorcery. We believe in the aspects of life our senses experience. We trust... Read more
Thanksgiving Day will be here soon, one week from today. We think of Thanksgiving as an event. We celebrate it with large meals, parades, lots of football on television. For some of us Thanksgiving is the beginning of the retail season. There are people who have jobs which require them to work on Thanksgiving Day. Even some of us who do not need to show up at our jobs on Thanksgiving Day are working on thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is more than... Read more
Grace is a short word that carries a deep complexity of truth. It can mean very different things to different people. Some people understand grace as athletic, the ability to stay balanced as you complete challenging tasks. Dancers are graceful, skaters gliding across the ice. Grace is an elegance of movement, the ability to transform everyday actions in to expressions of beauty. We often link style and grace. For other people, grace is more philosophical, even theological. Grace is unmerited... Read more
Seeking Surrender: How My Friendship With a Trappist Monk Taught Me to Trust and Embrace Life by Colette Lafia is an honest, intimate description of spiritual formation. We are shaped by how we reflect on and come to terms with our experiences. Spiritual life is sparked and stretched by challenges we face, disappointments and discouragements we feel, people we know, along with our own thinking and many other things. In Seeking Surrender, Colette Lafia tells her own story. Colette’s story grows out of... Read more
There are people who believe spiritual life is based in being afraid. Some are afraid of what other people think of them, and what they think of themselves. Some feel guilty and responsible, and are afraid they will never be forgiven. Some are afraid that, when they break the rules, it means they are bad people. Some people are afraid of what taking spiritual life seriously would do to them, and make them do. My experience with spiritual life is different, maybe... Read more
It can be a challenge for us to forgive each other, and a challenge to know when we are forgiven. Forgiveness almost always seems to come as a surprise. It is usually the product of long, hard work. Many of us do not have a clear idea of what forgiveness is, how it works. We are confused by “forgive and forget” and stories of dramatic forgiveness. We believe people need to earn our forgiveness, or at least ask us to forgive them.... Read more
There are people who have an unshakable grasp on what is not possible. They know what can be done and are firmly convinced about what cannot be done. They have assessed their organizations and the people with whom they work. They have a clear picture of what is beyond their limitations. People who call themselves leaders tell us what our capabilities are, and what is beyond us. They may see us as lacking certain essential leadership qualities or attitudes. They often have... Read more
Strategic Monk
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