by Deborah Vogel-Welch
I truly believe in the power of the human spirit to express itself fully in the light of day. Walking over a pavement near my home over the course of a year I noticed a swelling on the asphalt that turned into a bump. And finally a fiddler fern burst through the asphalt. I was humbled and stunned to think this delicate fern had pushed its way through 3 inches of blacktop. That is the difference between inside out power, such as if I had tried to blast through the asphalt to see the fern, and power from inside. How many times do we attempt to use false bravado to break up the old constraining patterns by attacking them from outside, instead of unleashing the inner strength of creative spirit?
Michael Lindfield
Servant leadership is all about unleashing the inner strength of creative spirit. We can engage in this in any phase of our lives. Robert Greenleaf wrote books about the Ultimate Test of Spirit as he aged and has many stories of times of transition in his own life as a servant leader. Some of us are working to unleash creative spirit with our current team that has a servant leadership culture in place, others might be feeling alone in working to serve in our organizations, and still others find ourselves in transition. When in transition one phase of life or work is ending — and the new possibility for where we might best serve and how we might best thrive in life is not yet clear to us. We may not always think of a transition phase as a time for servant leadership. Yet the importance of unleashing human spirit is as strong in transition as any other time in our lives. There is the opportunity to deepen our connection to our life purpose and to live and be of service in the world in new ways that may be gently calling and are ready to unfold. We can put ourselves in the conditions for the greatest possibilities during this time.
Robert Greenleaf said, “The healthy society, like the healthy body, is not the one that has taken the most medicine. It is the one in which the internal health building forces are in the best shape.”
What can we learn about our own internal health-building forces toward living in a way that is thriving, and supporting a healthier world for those we care deeply about? I have some insights and stories from my own life and the exceptional people I have learned from and with…but most important of all I know the power of the wisdom and growth that only happens in a learning community to answer questions like these. Learning communities differ from traditional training or networking because as Meg Wheatley says “People make a commitment to be there for each other; they participate not only for their own needs, but to serve the needs of others. …The speed at which people learn and grow in a community of practice is noteworthy. I have been amazed at how in learning communities we can become stronger as we grow inside, listen more deeply, provide and receive a depth of support, and in a sense as Lao Tsu put it discover the potential for “Awakening the world by awakening ourselves.”
Periodically I check in with myself to consider the support around me that helps me serve in more powerful ways and keeps me from getting stale or stuck or break through fear that I encounter when I come up on a life transition. I find the value of learning community only deepens with time.
Why not consider your own experiences with learning community? If you have engaged in a learning community what has it meant to you and how well are you currently engaging to grow? And if you haven’t engaged in one of these opportunities and feel so called, check out more from the book “Be the Change” or by clicking the logo below of our VSLLC (Virtual Servant Leadership Learning Community) which starts in April and is available worldwide. The journey of serving as a foundation for how we lead our lives and contribute to the future takes courage and wisdom. I am grateful to learn and serve with you.