News from Peace Begins With Me

For the first time in history most people are being asked to make their own decisions. Previously we lived under a hierarchical structure where a small group of religious and cultural leaders made decisions for us. Even in industry it was common for a small group of people to identify priorities and solutions and communicate these decisions to the rank and file to be acted on. Leadership was the responsibility of the few. Now we are being asked to share the responsibilities of leadership and to think for ourselves.

I remember the first time I was asked to think for myself in any significant way. It was in high school during Grade 11 English class. At the start of the semester our teacher, Mr. Edward Tell, outlined our requirements for the coming term. The final essay, he explained, would be one question - "What is man?" The entire course would be devoted to developing an answer to this broad philosophical question by reading the various works of English literature that considered the human condition. Books like Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad were assigned reading. Each lecture was a series of questions - one more deep and penetrating than the last. Questions as - "Who is man? What is his purpose? What is life? What is good? What is evil? Who decides?"

I studiously copied all of the questions into my notebook. I anticipated that at some point Mr. Tell would provide the answers for us to copy into our notebooks as well. Much to my dismay the questions continued. After weeks of relentless questioning without the offering of any sort of answers I finally had had enough. I put up my hand. "Mr. Tell", I asked, "When are you going to give us the answers to all these questions?" Mr. Tell laughed. It wasn't his responsibility, he replied, to answer these questions. Rather, it was mine.

Panic and fear washed over me. It was inconceivable that I should be the one to answer these questions. I was lost. I was unprepared for the task of thinking for myself. I knew how to gather information but I didn't know how to evaluate this information. I was fearful of arriving at the wrong answer. Not wanting to be wrong kept me vigilant to determine what others had agreed were the right answers. Now Mr. Tell was informing me that it was my responsibility to decide. I panicked at the thought that I would need to figure this out for myself.

In hindsight I see how I had spent most of my life looking to others for the answers to life's questions, looking outside of myself. My assumption was that others knew better than I did. My own ability to consider, reflect, discern, and decide was significantly impaired. Up until that point in my life my role had been to take the answers of others, the direction of others and follow them as carefully and conscientiously as I could.

This shift from wisdom being externally determined to becoming internally determined is a shift that all of us are being asked to make. We are all being challenged to take responsibility for our life, for our choices, and for our actions. It is being demanded of us to share in the responsibility of sorting out life's questions and challenges. While this responsibility may feel like a burden, in truth it is our liberation. When we finally embrace our capacity and our right to choose, we step into our freedom and power.

I am now of the understanding that the goal of life is to claim our power and to assume a leadership role. Only when we all come from a place of leadership and personal responsibility will we live rich and meaningful lives in harmony with one another. It is up to each of us to define what is important and to define our purpose in life. To declare who we are. Life is about answering the question, "Who am I?" "Who will I choose to be in this moment?" Life is a series of choices.

When a challenge is before me I now ask, "What would I like to accomplish? What does success look like to me?" When faced with adversity I've learned to ask, "Who will I choose to be in this moment? What action of mine will do the most good?" These are questions that no one else can answer. I've finally embraced my role and responsibility as a creative being rather than a reactive being. A creative being is one who chooses with intention and who acts knowing that they have the power to create their experience.

Healthy families, healthy organizations, and healthy communities are ones that encourage all members to accept their responsibility to choose and to act. To excel in this world we must embrace our responsibility for leadership, not over others, but over oneself. We are being offered an opportunity to enter a new reality - a reality of our choosing.

Cheers,
Ted