I am so pleased to announce that my poem, helios of pain, is now available at MasticadoresIndia. Thank you to Terveen Gill, and the team at MasticadoresIndia for their continued support, and for publishing this piece.
helios of pain
birds fly through the sky
as in my heart, our love always resides
flittering
and mistaking a beat or two
for a remedy made of oranges that are blue…
I would be honored if you would go here, and read the rest of my poem. Thank you!
Photo by ractapopulous, Pixabay
Recently, David, of The Skeptic’s Kaddish launched an initiative called, Poetry Partners. It is an amazing initiative, which invites poets to submit a poem, and then David writes a response poem. I contemplated a poem to send to David for some time, and then finally did about a month ago.
Here is the poem I sent to David.
a lining of silver
I sit atop a tower, looking down
at the flowers briar,
calling to me at all hours
it is
beauty
seen
in
the myriad contours and folds of life’s road —
gold
and shining in the afternoon sun,
watching from afar,
they run
frolicking in nature’s bounty, like slivers
of dust, the night away,
they wash
as the
clouds hang
onto the love
they feel within
gathering
up our tears, a lining of silver
remains
thin
delivering back the tears collected,
delight spreads across the
land
as our tears seed
hope and love
inside
the
flowers briar once again
Now, here is David’s poem in response to my poem.
A crystalline by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’
An arrogant little man looked
out upon glowing sunflower fields.
If their lovely soul wouldn’t bow,
he’d simply be forced to Dehull her.
“Forward! Bring that fucking bitch to me!”
Soldiers marched, tanks rolled; rockets flew.
But the flowers resisted and stood
tall against the might of his troops.
‘Grind them down!’ he shouted, enraged,
‘Press forward! We shall Extract our price!’
Tears flowed forth from the flowers, but
they would not succumb to the Crude man.
Then, as though born of silver tears,
a Refined lady rose from their midst.
The train of her golden gown trailed
behind her, as she strode through the fields.
Thick clouds, hanging onto the love
they felt within, gathered up the tears.
“True hope,” the gentlewoman declared,
“shan’t be defeated by hubris.”
Deliberately, she stepped forward,
unfazed by the bullets, and beamed.
Thank you again to David for partnering with me on this amazing collaboration. What fun!
Photo associated with a lining of silver by Layers, Pixabay
the sky’s canopy lives in my mind,
restless at any given moment,
yet with the blue
contained
inside
of
this torment, transformation occurs, giving
way to stars that line my veins,
and suns that linger
inside
my
eyes for days
it is
the nature
of life’s canopy
on display
within the heart of you and I, if
we learn to love the pain,
and give it
away
while refreshing ourselves in the sun and stars
of another day…
Photo by Prettysleepy, Pixabay
I walk
on the sands of time
feeling bereft, and
out of line
with natures
progression,
I, stop, and digest
my vision quest
and, call forth
the winds, a true test…
of our ability
to align
with life’s requests
one step in front
of the other, feeling
the granules beneath, feet
on solid footing,
even when I’m unsure
of the current efforting…as
realization dawns, and
the withdrawn, now gone,
is transformed into something more
than I’ve ever done…
Alright, another busy week, and, yep, also not busy. I’ve not started an entry that way before, have I? Nope. Why?
Well, it occurred to me this past week that in even the busiest times, when we feel like life is moving faster than we can follow along, there is always time. Now, granted, we have to create it, yet it does exist. In these pandemic days, I just wanted to make sure this is known. More time for yourself, for myself, is creatable.
Okay, now, into the writing that occurred this past week. Here we go.
And this week? Yep.
I’m currently working on a couple of new posts, which are.
I thought getting one of these published this week might happen, alas, that will not be the case. However, I do feel pretty confident about getting them both completed next week. We shall see. And, as I always say, or, rather, write, that is the fun part of the process. Not really knowing, and being at peace with that.
Now, let’s discuss the remote book club a little.
I’ve had so much fun with the remote book club. Last week, as we discussed in my last diary post, we finished Anxious People, and are now onto my choice, Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami. I’m a big Murakami fan, so I am super excited about this next book.
In my diary entry last week, I also wrote about connection and communication, and I’d like to report that having the additional connection and communication with the local folks in the remote book club has been amazing. Fun.
Well, I’ve not written about creating videos in some time. Why? Well, I’ve been putting more time into my writing, and so the videos have been deprioritized. However, I have a whole new vision for video engagement, especially for LinkedIn, and so will be creating some new videos in the next quarter.
If you’ve not seen any of my videos, and are interested, due check out my Youtube channel. I’ve only had the channel for a short time, and find that creating videos is a beneficial way to connect with people from an audio/visual learning perspective.
You can also check out the videos on my site right here. Wow, I’ve not added a new video to the website since June. Phew. It’s been a little longer than I realized. Well, that just means there’s that much more to create!
I’ve written many articles on vulnerability. All of them intended to create the importance of actively being aware of how vulnerability can be transformational to both our personal and professional development. Seriously transformational.
I am resetting them here, as I do also believe that in the future we will need as much innovation as possible. And? Well, one of the gateways to unleashing creative potential is learning to be vulnerable. Alright, here are those articles.
Wow. That’s fun.
Alright, that’s this week’s entry.
Please stay healthy and well, and have a wonderful week.
Have you ever considered becoming an agent of change; or, considered, how to move yourself into the realm of transformation? How about considering what leadership, change agency, and transformation have to do with each other?
Well, right now I’m in the middle of the transformation video series, of which the post, Developmental Growth and Transformation: A Distinction is a part.
Simply, the distinction is that transformation is internally driven, whereas development is externally driven.
And, of the former, becoming a change agent as a leader is transformative. Why? Because when we move on the leadership spectrum away from the status quo and toward becoming an agent of change, we create the possibility of transforming ourselves and everyone around us.
Alright, let’s take a look at becoming a transformative change agent as a leader. There are two parts to this conversation, and they are as follows.
Ready? Let’s go.
When we are living in and for transformation, we always question what we know. Why is this important? Good question.
Because if we know everything there is to know about a particular topic or subject, we can’t learn more. And, when we are closed to learning more, we are also closed to transformation.
The entire realm of transformation occupies the unknown. Why? Because when we live today as we did yesterday, which is essentially what happens when we are closed to learning something new, we simply reproduce today as we lived yesterday. Not transformative.
Now, though learning is possible when we are open and we question our beliefs, we must also be willing to let go of our beliefs. Questioning our beliefs is the first step, and we must also learn how to let go.
When you begin to question your beliefs, the next step is to let go of those that no longer serve you. Can be difficult. Why?
Because we are socialized to think and act in certain ways. And, socialization is powerful. However, when you begin to question your beliefs, you will see there is much to learn. And, it is often necessary to let go of our previous views. It’s okay.
It’s not about right and wrong. It’s about knowing that letting go is a natural process of growing, first, and, second, letting go is necessary and needed to find your transformational path.
Once you question your beliefs, and begin to let go of those that no longer serve you, it’s time to begin re-creating your belief system.
People interested in transformation, are actively interested in recreating their belief systems. They are always searching for new ways to learn, to develop, and to be.
Though development and transformation are different, they are related. Development is a wonderful platform to gain the knowledge necessary to enter into the space of transformation.
When we are quiet and do the internal work necessary to question all that we believe, and then let go of the ideas, concepts, and emotions that no longer serve us, we automatically create the space needed to recreate our belief system.
Know that in a space of transformation this process is continuous. It becomes a daily practice. And then? Well, then you are ready to act from a new space, with new beliefs.
When we question our beliefs, let go of the beliefs that no longer serve us, and then recreate our belief system to fit our current transformative iteration, we automatically take action from that new belief system.
We begin to act from a new space and in a new way. Does it happen all at once? It may, yet often it is iterative, which simply means, as was aforementioned, that it is a continuous process.
Old beliefs, habits, and patterns can be hard to let go of; yet, with practice, and guidance as needed, new beliefs, habits, and patterns can be created.
Yet, because these beliefs, habits, and patterns are so deeply ingrained within our beings, it takes being intentional.
Much like development, you must want to transform. You must create and set the intention to develop, and you must do the same with transformation.
Alright, once you’ve intentionally embarked into transformation, there are three more things to consider in order to see the connection between leadership, change agency, and transformation.
When we create our future from our future, we recognize that to do other, is to create our future from our past. Happens often. It’s not a demerit.
However, to really create change, we must move into a space where we let go of the past, and stand in a reality that is being imagined as a future concept of a reality we want to live into. Important. How, you ask?
You have within you all of the imagination and dreams that have been present for, well, possibly, your entire life. Time to let them out.
Once you have, you can begin to create the future you want to live into. Create? Meaning, you can begin to take ideas and put them into systems and processes to see them realized. Concept meets execution.
Three simple steps, ready?
People that actively work to create change in the world are often met with barriers, and people that say it’s not possible. Normal. Why?
Because the status quo is more comfortable, and it’s what people know. People are fearful of what they don’t know, and don’t understand. You will be met with resistance.
Where there is a barrier, or a person that says what you’re doing is impossible, there is another path toward the realization of your dream. Truth. Often, there will be several other paths, you just need to be patient.
They will show up. How do I know? I’ve experienced it many times. When you are creating change in the world, you are in action, you are pushing on systems that have been in place, in some cases, for years and years.
Yet, they are changeable. All of them. With a little persistence without resistance, you can create the change you want to see in the world.
In the post, Persistence Without Resistance: Getting Outside of Your Comfort Zone, I write about understanding an important distinction. Have you ever worked so hard at something that it almost felt as if you were forcing that something to happen?
Well, sometimes that force can also feel like resistance. Like we are resisting our current reality by trying to create something new to supplant our current reality. It can be subtle.
Either way, when we resist our current reality, we are, in effect, creating more of that reality. Paradox? Yep, yet it is true. There is another way.
Be persistent without resisting your current reality. Meaning, accept your current reality, just as it is, with all that you enjoy and dislike. Then? Begin to create from that space. A space of no judgement about all that is in your life. Can be difficult.
Yet, in a space of persistence without resistance, we have the best opportunity to actually manifest the reality we are working so hard to create. Yep, just like that.
Alright, so we’ve now discussed 4 things you can do to move yourself into the realm of transformation, and we’ve also covered 3 things you can do today to lead as a change agent.
And, there, then is 4 + 3 = 7 Ways to Become A Transformative Change Agent Today. As I’ve written in many other posts, we need more transformative change agents. In fact, I would argue, we need every one of us to step up, and work to create the change we want to see in the world. Why?
Simple. Because you deserve it, we all deserve it, the whole world does. We all deserve to live in a world where dreams, imagination, innovation, and positive change are regularly created by each of us, you and me.
What will you create next?
Four months in, almost 100 blogs, and SO MUCH learning. Phew. What a ride. I’ve loved every minute of it. Every minute. What have I been up to lately? Hm.
Well, like most of you, writing, creating new ways to engage, and learning a lot about myself along the way. A lot.
I’ve finally made the decision to merge my two sites into one. It will take some time, yet it is time. My oldest son, Justin, will be assisting. Fun. So funny. When I started blogging in April, I created 5 websites. Phew. That was a lot.
Since that time, I have whittled them down to two. And, now there has been a natural confluence of the two sites. I am really excited about merging them in the coming weeks. It will help me focus, and I think it will be much more efficient.
This past week, I’ve been reflecting a lot about transformation. I’ll be doing a new blog series, actually it started today with, Developmental Growth and Transformation: A Distinction, and a new video series over the next several weeks.
The series will cover, change agents versus the status quo, integrity, vulnerability, communication, and a couple of other topics. I am also working on a new series on sociology called the social constructionism series.
Super excited about both of these series. I think they are very pertinent right now, and I hope you all get something from them. I know I will get many things from reflecting upon them and writing them. 🙂
And, here are a couple other blog topics I am currently working on.
Work? Busy. I’ve been working more on my social media presence, especially on LinkedIn. If you’ve not connected with me, and would like to, please do. You can find me here.
We are almost ready to launch fall classes. We will have over 120 remote community education classes on offer. Pretty amazing. If you’ve never taken a remote community education class, and would like to, you can email me at fleschj@linnbenton.edu. Registration opens on 8/31.
Personal? Spending time working on me. Like many of you, I would like desperately to be with other people right now, yet know that is not helpful, or necessary. So, I am spending my time writing, reading, watching a show here and there, meditating, and going for walks and hikes while the weather is so nice.
Because the theme of the next couple of weeks is about transformation and the social construction of life, here are a couple quotes on these two topics.
“Yes, your transformation will be hard. Yes, you will feel frightened, messed up and knocked down. Yes, you’ll want to stop. Yes, it’s the best work you’ll ever do.” -Robin Sharma
Awakenthegreatnesswithin
“Transformation isn’t sweet and bright. It’s a dark and murky, painful pushing. An unraveling of the untruths you’ve carried in your body. A practice in facing your own created demons. A complete uprooting, before becoming.” -Victoria Erickson
Awakenthegreatnesswithin
“Human existence is, ab initio, an ongoing externalization. As man externalizes himself, he constructs the world into which he externalizes himself. In the process of externalization, he projects his own meanings into reality. Symbolic universes, which proclaim that all reality is humanly meaningful and call upon the entire cosmos to signify the validity of human existence, constitute the farthest reaches of this projection.80 b.”
Goodreads.com
― Peter L. Berger, The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge
Forgive the highly gendered language in the last quote. It was written a long time ago. Actually, let’s write it again, with more appropriate language. Here we go.
Alright, that’s it for this entry. I hope that you are all doing well, living well, loving well, creating well, and developing well.
Berger, Peter L, and Thomas Luckmann. The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. , 1967. Print.
Have you ever thought about the difference between developmental growth and transformation? Or, have or do you consider them the same? Hm.
There is an important distinction between developmental growth and transformation, which is important to both personal and professional development. Let’s take a look.
First, let’s define the terms.
Translate development into Spanish
Translate transformation into Spanish
Ah, do you see the dinsticiton? Either way, let’s work it through.
When you are interested in development, meaning available to it, you occupy a space that welcome’s learning. You stand outside of what you believe to be true about the world, and how you occupy it, and welcome new knowledge, new types of understanding, and new ways of being. Simple. Or is it?
Well, because we have an ego, or, wait, do we? Well, for the purposes of this post, let’s assume we do. Because we have an ego, we don’t like being wrong.
Because it fits into our worldview. It is what we know. When information comes in, we assemble it into the the narrative of our worldview and who we believe we are. We confirm our ego.
If the information doesn’t fit into our current worldview, we really only have two choices.
Denying this new information is called denial. We are actively denying that another way to look at a situation or event is possible. Egocentric.
However, when we are open to the possibility that there are other ways to think about a situation or event, we have now entered into the developmental arena.
Even if the information doesn’t fit into our current worldview, if we are open, we can incorporate it into our worldview rather easily. It is all about being open to new information, new ways of understanding, and new ways of being.
The simplest example is to consider development at school and work. When we are confronted with new information, we have a choice. Assimilate and incorporate that new information into our existing worldview, creating new knowledge, or reject it.
I am always in conversation with the team about our goals, objectives, and priorities. Recently, I was asked about hiring someone to run Zoom technology for the upcoming professional development trainings.
Well, the next week, I ran a Zoom meeting with the team. The meeting was 90-minutes and was about creating our next 30-day priorities. Part of the meeting was creating breakout rooms, which you can do in Zoom. The meeting was a complete disaster. Really, it was. What did I learn?
That you absolutely need someone to run technology while the person running the meeting does just that, runs the meeting. I learned through doing the meeting that hiring someone for a Zoom tech position was absolutely necessary. We are hiring someone right now.
Alright, that’s development. Opportunities for development are available every day. If you don’t see them, it might be that you are avoiding them or in denial about them. It’s not a demerit. I didn’t develop for a long time. Really. I wasn’t interested. Not a judgement. Just a fact. Let’s now look at transformation.
Now, transformation implies a complete change to the object, thing, or person. Yep, that’s right. How then does transformation differ from development?
While development requires an active openness, as we’ve discussed, transformation requires openness and a complete and total letting go of what was, in favor of what will be. It requires a shift from a focus on the external to the internal.
Further, you must be willing to let go of how you previously viewed the world. Open to a continual process of creating new information, new ways of understanding, and new ways of being.
The distinction is that with transformation you actively seek out opportunities to question the ways you think, act, and occur. Internally focused.
Let me give you an example to help with the distinction.
Let us say you want to develop leadership skills. You can develop leadership skills in lots of ways. You can take classes, read books, even put leadership principles into practice in your life. That is development.
You must be willing to let go of all of your preconceived ideas about what leaders are supposed to do, how they are supposed to act, and how they are supposed to be. All of them. Then what?
And, everything you think you know about leadership. Start over. Really. Let it all go. And, create from there.
Transformation can only occur when we let go. Know also that the letting go will need to happen again, and again, and again. Over and over. Why? Because you are disrupting what you held to be true, and creating something new. Key. You are not adding, you are creating.
Let’s see. Okay. Here we go.
When the pandemic began here locally, we were approaching the last week of the term at the community college where I work. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I work in community and continuing education. It is all experiential. All of it. Which means that it is in-person. All of it is, or was.
We created an entirely new business model. A model that is transformational, as all aspects of it are completely different than the previous model. All of them.
We created all new processes and systems for how we do business. New ways we market and engage with the local community, new ways that instructors teach their classes, even the content that is delivered, while similar, is still completely new. Why?
Because a completely new context has been created. And it was created intentionally by believing something else was possible. Which then replaced our current belief system of how we all viewed our work.
When you intentionally create new ways to be, new ways to think, new ways to believe, new ways to be a human, you are creating contexts that are transformational. Never seen or experienced before. Transformation.
One key way. When you develop, whether you want to or not, you give out your development to others. If those around you are open, they will learn from you and also develop. And, it is the exact same for you. If those around you are developing, and you are open you will also develop.
It is the same with transformation. If you are creating transformational contexts that change the nature of what’s possible, those around you, if they are open, will also transform. If they are open. If not, then they won’t. Same for development.
Oh, yes, absolutely. In some ways, they sort of go together, which is why I wanted to write about the distinction. Whereas they are different, they both are about being open to and participating in creating change.
Here is a distinction on the difference between change and transformation.
“Change is about using external influences to modify actions to achieve desired results. Transformation is about modifying beliefs so that natural actions achieve the desired results.”
cioinsight.com
See the difference? One is externally driven, and one is internally driven. Very similar to the distinction between development and transformation. Important.
Really it’s pretty simple, yet not easy. A paradox, yep. My suggestion?
When we are open, the world opens up. It really does. There is so much to learn and to experience. Being open creates an immediate possibility. The possibility that you will learn to be more. More of either how you already occur, or more by occurring in a completely new way in a completely new context.
Posting during a weekday, a different experience for me. Yet it is important. Yesterday, I wrote the post Creating and Maintaining Relationships Part 2: Standing for Each Other and our Shared Humanity. In that post we discussed how important all of our relationships are, as is taking a stand for ourselves, and all those we are in relationship with.
When we take a stand for ourselves, and for others, we are in what I termed a valuable relationship. I believe valuable relationships are disruptive and cause transformation – they cause transformation within us, and without.
Here is an example.
Today, I’m sitting at my desk and am working, not thinking about last nights post at all. Yet, in my inbox comes this post, On Racism, Oppression, and The Need to Do Something About It, by Cristian Mihai.
Now, as some of you may know, I started blogging about 7 weeks ago, and Cristian was the first individual to like a post, and follow my blog. Of course, likewise, then, I went to look at what Cristian was up to, and found the site The Art of Blogging. Fun.
Fast forward 7 weeks or so to this morning’s context, and the aforementioned blog by Cristian dropping into my email. Well, in that email, there were 4 or 5 different ways to contribute, to take action. And, I did so.
The reason I have paused my workday to write this post is that the story above is exactly what I was writing about in my post last night. Exactly. We believe that it is only in the relationships with those that are closest to us where we have the opportunity for, as I’ve defined in this post, a valuable relationship. Not so.
I don’t know Cristian at all, yet I would consider this a disruptive and transformational relationship, thus valuable. The action, from which, continues as I write this post.
In order to be involved in these kinds of relationships, you must be willing to let go of the fear you have about acting. Let go of the unknown about what will happen if you act. Release yourself from that.
It is not about the result of the relationship, it is about the actions taken inside the relationship that matter. And, that the relationship fosters taking a stand and creating action. These actions are disruptive, are transformational, and are valuable.
My invitation to you
First, remember, that you do make a difference. You make a difference every time you take action. If you’ve been held back by fear of the unknown, let it go, and get in action. For, you can also make a difference in someone else’s life by taking action, by taking a stand for yourself, and for them.
Develop. Inspire. Transform. 