Wisdom Strategy
"Walkways That 'Don't Go Nowhere' "
The other day I decided to put a flagstone walkway in my backyard. That's it-that was as far as the plan went. At 8:00 AM I went to a landscape place where they asked for the measurements of the area where the walkway was going to go. Having no idea-I didn't think to measure anything-I told the guy I'd start with half a pallet and "see what happens." The stone was delivered at Noon. The delivery guy looked me up and down and told me I would have to get a husband or some young guy to help me move the stone to the backyard. With neither husband nor young guy in sight, I began carrying the stone piece by piece into the front door, through the house, out the backdoor, and into the backyard. I hauled five pieces even before the delivery guy maneuvered the miniature forklift back onto his flatbed truck.
 An hour later, I called the guy back hoping he could pick up the empty pallet. He couldn't believe it. "You did it all by yourself?" Not only had I hauled it all into the back yard, but by the time he got there a couple of hours later, I had spread the sand and placed the stones. A bit smug, I walked him into the backyard where I grandly gestured to the completed walkway. For a minute he was quiet. And then: "But it don't go nowhere." Startled by this pronouncement, I pointed to what was obvious to me, "Oh yes, it goes to the back wall." "Yeah, he said, "but it's a wall. Walls aren't somewhere to go. Walkways are suppose to go somewhere you'd want to walk to-that's why they call em' walkways." Now this was news to me. I just wanted a flagstone walkway-I didn't know it actually had to go somewhere.
"Well, it doesn't go somewhere yet, but it will," I told him. He looked back at the walkway and the chipped block wall it led to (see photo) then beat it back to his truck to have a hearty laugh. I really like my flagstone walkway. I especially like to look at it from inside the house where it calls to me to come out and walk on it. After two days it hit me; I knew exactly where my walkway was going. It was going to lead to the humungous cement sun sculpture that my friend Jody in Scottsdale wanted to give me two years before. I just needed to drive there, haul it back and hang it on the wall where the walkway ended.
While my approach to installing walkways may seem silly, the Wisdom Makers often choose projects and experiences where uncertainty about outcomes is the norm. When Jonathan Sperling and his students brainstormed ideas for the I Care program he started at North High School in Torrance, CA he had no idea how it was going to work. He says, "I brought all the ideas to my dad who is a keen thinker-and even he said, "Terrific! I love it! What is it?" Jonathan's dad helped him pull the project together well enough to propose it to other teachers and the community. Today, I Care remains a concept without a whole lot of boundaries or a clear destination-and that works just fine for everyone. I Care is really a way of being-an attitude of care toward oneself and other people. One day it looks like a food drive, the next it is students writing notes of gratitude to other students who have made a difference and the month after it is producing I Care coloring books for the elementary school kids. Even without a plan, Jonathan knows I Care is leading to something wonderful. How does he know this? He says, "When something emphasizes the positive, my intuition steers me toward it."
What have you done in your life that seemed not to make sense to others, but felt right because like Jonathan says, it was something positive? How did it turn out? What's calling to you now and who will it benefit? This month, go ahead and try this experiment: Do what Margaret Wheatley calls "Follow the Yes." Go down that path that has been calling to you, without worrying about how it will all transpire. Pay attention to the unexpected resources and ideas that appear to move the project forward. Drop me an email and let me know about your experience. I would love to hear from you: elle@wisdomout.com
Wisdom Out!
Elle
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Update on the Book "Wisdom Out"
Please visit the "Meet the Wisdom Makers" page at http://www.wisdomout.com/wisdom_makers.html to learn about the new people I have interviewed for the book. You will meet Jonathan Sperling, Donna Mayeux, Randolph Fazande, Dr. Miguel Alvarez, Mark Cerney, Christina Baldwin, Rowen Schussheim-Anderson and Randy Larsen, among others. Many Wisdom Makers, including Lisa Foley, Doug Reeves, Margaret Rode, Danielle Jackson, John Simpkins, Cindy Mendelson, Tama Kieves, Donna Mayeux, and Christina Baldwin, have websites you can visit to learn more about what they are doing in the world and to see how you can be involved.
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DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS WISE? I would LOVE to receive your nomination of a wise one, from anywhere in the world. Through these nominations of wisdom, we will all come to understand what it takes to live wisely in today's world. Please visit the nomination page at http://www.wisdomout.com/nominate.html. Although I conduct many interviews of the Wisdom Makers™ by phone, I will be in the following cities in coming months and would love to interview a person you think is wise, in person:
April: Chicago, Denver, St. Louis
May: Los Angeles, San Francisco
June: San Francisco, St. Louis, MO
July: Eugene, OR
August 30-September 3: Maui, HI
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Wisdom Quote
"If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day."
--Alex Noble
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