Integrating it all, with thanks to the Village

That's my theme of the week. It's taken a village of sorts to get me through the various learnings and hoops and technology challenges, and I am firmly a fan of the village now. Collective Creative Intelligence, Village, my own personal slime mold colony... call it what you will, I am grateful for the insight and support and generosity of my fellow travellers. Thank you!!

There has been a lot of talk about perceived redundancies between Leadership & Personal Development, and Creativity & Right Livelihood, and the fact that some of us feel that many of the tools we are learning in THIS class-- Using the Social Web for Social Change-- should be incorporated into those two other courses. I am a firm believer that much of the first half of this class should somehow be distributed into the curriculum of the first year of BGI, and that Creativity & Right Livelihood is a very good place for the Personal Branding component. Then what is currently the second half of Social Web could be a stand-alone course with more time available for concentrating on the social change aspect. Believing this in no way dilutes my appreciation for the contributions these two classes have made, and continue to make, to me.

In fact that is where the integration part comes in. As I wrote in my CRL final paper last night, much of what I have been learning this quarter builds on teachings that have been falling into place since Channel Rock; however somehow they seem to be landing more successfully, settling more deeply into the crevices of my consciousness.

Maybe it just takes this much time. Our most recent conversations in the CRL group forums have been especially fruitful for me. The perspectives of my teammates opened my eyes to assumptions that were so real to me that I considered them to be simple TRUTH. Wow. Specifically, caricature visions of what constitutes “corporate” work were completely destroyed, and I am truly grateful. And I don’t mind how silly I feel to have my unexamined prejudices revealed to me. The value of having my judgemental shorthand shown to me is HUGE. And it opens an entire avenue of possibility in terms of finding my true right work.

Someone whose ideas have turned my assumptions over is our CAIR from last month, Bill Bellows. Who seems to be doing quite well transforming the world from inside a classic corporate structure. An opportunity has shown up for me to be part of the team that manifests Bill's first Enterprise Thinking seminar held in Seattle. (January 23-24 at REI, announcement and signup available soon!). Not only does this allow me to work with people I respect and admire greatly, but it allows me to delve deeper into the thinking behind the specific work of Russell Ackoff, Edward deBono, W. Edwards Deming, and other thought leaders—and to develop relationships and have conversations with people who are playing with these radical and promising ideas. This stuff EXCITES me. And though it is completely unclear where it could lead, I know I am going in the right direction.

I think the synergy of these three classes-- LPD, CRL, and DLM-- have contibuted to an accelerated integration of the ideas therein.

One of the understandings I entered BGI with was that I needed my life to be about transformation, and ideas. Not about stuff. Even handmade, beautiful stuff made by artisans in India who may indeed be following THEIR right livelihood by making it. My highest purpose is just not expressed there anymore. And someone else can do it. The question I am actively engaged with now—is who am I really, and what IS my higher purpose?

It is a good question to wake up with in the morning, a good question to face in my journal, a good question to bring into conversations with anyone who will engage with me. I am open to all insights and contributions. And I keep what lands and let the rest fall away.