Go West!!! with Christine West
I often wonder how much we as a society really learn from both the wisdom and the lessons of the past. It seems that as a society we find the miracle or serendipity we have searched for and we end up finding ways to make a mess out of the beauty because of greed, poor decisions or in decision, fear and arrogance. In my life experience, I have never heard anyone admit out loud they want their life to be filled with more complex difficulties, stressors, disease and to experience more hardship. Yet today we hear endless stories that reflect what we do not want to experience. The news is filled with never-ending stories, debates and updates on an unattractive healthcare plan, economic hardship, industry downturn, bombings, shootings, assault victims, death, disease, and natural disasters. We keep spreading the word about what we do not want – Why? We rarely align our beliefs, our words and behavior with what we truly want, Why? Why are we so attracted to hearing about devastation instead of stories that are about building our prosperity and our true power?
As I remember the story of Easter Island, the hardy Polynesians who discovered the island found the discovery to be miraculous. This was their serendipitous moment. They brought tools and food, plants and animals to begin a new life. The island they discovered was not a typical Polynesian paradise with tropics, rivers or protective reefs. This island had other resources such a forest of large palms and other trees, with drinking water held by creators. Tools and weapons were created from obsidian and lapilli for constructing statues.
The islanders, once settled, gradually spread across the island, occupying nearly all the available areas. To plant their crops, they resorted to slash and burn agriculture to remove the forest cover. Eventually this caused topsoil to erode during storms and, overtime, the productivity of the land declined.
They built houses and shrines, and carved enormous statues. As statue making increased, the supplies of timber and rope gradually became scarce. The lack of trees meant that canoes could no longer be built, restricting offshore fishing. Without canoes, they could not set off for another island. The islanders found themselves trapped in a degrading environment and a self created prison.
The population of Easter Island reached its peak at 10,000, which far exceeded the capabilities of the small island's ecosystem. Resources became scarce, and the once lush forest was destroyed and the people became competitive, greedy and destructive. Thereafter, a thriving and advanced social order began to decline into bloody civil war and, evidently, cannibalism. Eventually, all of the Moai statues standing along the coast were torn down by the islanders themselves. Then of course Western civilization entered into the picture, which brought more disaster with introducing the islanders to slavery and disease.
Easter Island has become, for many, a metaphor for ecological disaster.
In a larger space we are duplicating the model for ecological disaster when we promote, listen and reward negative destructive acts in our society. For our very survival, when we need to remember we cannot survive in isolation or utilize resources for symbolic falsification. We need to begin to feed our Hearts and Souls instead of our EGO. The EGO forces things to happen, whereas our heart and soul allows things to happen. And we need to become skilled enough to know the difference between the two because our true power resides in the heart and soul of every human being. We all have access to this power yet only a small part of our population uses it.
We need to broaden our awareness to the very decisions we are making. Organizational leaders and those who influence need to “read more before they lead.” Meaning read the environment and people before making decisions that create more hardship or the unwanted turmoil. We need to be able to communicate honestly about where we are, how we feel and how to align our behaviors with our goals. We need to learn how to appropriately ask for help in some situations. We need to admit where we made mistakes and regroup in different direction quickly if needed.
We need to be reminded of our core values as a society. To create social health and advocacy it is every person’s responsibility to be accountable for our choices and our social creation. Many have been taught to build yourself up is by destroying another. I see this behavior constantly with competing groups and corporations. We are constantly trained to bash the competition instead of looking at ways to create mutual value and win-win. Does it really feel good when someone else is suffering?
Many have be taught to harbor negativity. I tell you, the burden you carry because of this decision blocks a piece of your potential. Forgiveness is a very powerful tool. It frees you up from holding on to unwanted behaviors of another. It gives us a place to excuse another instead of focusing on the wrong doings. It does not me you need to be in contact with group or person. It means you have opened space inside yourself to bring in something better. It also allows you to leave people in great shape while you let them go.
When we focus our energies on the greater good of mankind while functioning from our heart and soul serendipitous opportunities begin daily. I have found magical doors open easily in my business and personal life because of these principles. I encourage you to give Serendipitous Wisdom a try …
Genuinely,
Christine
Author: Christine M. West, TheBusinessMD, 2240 E. Tudor Rd. #976, Anchorage, Alaska, USA 99507. Phone 1-907-223-8403. Email: info@thebusinessmd.net, http://www.businessmd.net/ http://thebusinessmd.blogspot.com/ Christine West is an industrial organizational psychology practitioner and is in private practice as TheBusinessMD which helps organizations and individuals overcome fear and explore the power of change. Ms. West is also a Featured Columnist for the National Networker http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/
For more information, please visit Christine's TNNW Bio.
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