wk3 reading – Chapters 5 - 8

I still think this is a great read for this month. It's like a breath of fresh air. I think the first four chapters opened my mind up to the world of possibility so that I could take in the next four chapters as I seek to apply them in my daily life.



Thus, I will be sharing with you a few passages that stood out for me:

Fifth Practice: Leading from any chair.
(pg. 72)

Ben asked: "How can you bear to play day after day in an orchestra led by conductors, many of whom know so much less than you?"

Eugene Lehner: It is now forty-three years since this happened, and it is less and less likely that I will be asked. However, in the meantime, I haven't had a single moment in rehearsal, as I sit wondering what I would say to the orchestra should I suddenly be called upon to lead.

Ninth Practice: Lightning a Spark - The practice of enrolling (pg. 125)

"Enrolling is the art and practice of generating a spark of possibility for others to share".

This next anecdote reminded me of how anyone can lead from any chair and how by practicing the art of enrolling we can light up a spark of generosity and great creativity.



In college, I signed up for a course in microbiology even though it had nothing to do with any of my majors, I just thought it would be fun (yes, the nerd in me). Two weeks into it, I knew I was in big trouble not knowing the terminology or methodology. I still thought it was a great class, so I decided to organize a study group and I asked everyone in class to join it. Most of the students who showed up were in my same situation, and after a few minutes we realized we were not going to get anywhere. There was one guy who had not said anything. So, I asked him, what about you, what do you think? He went up to the board, drew pictures, told stories, and suddenly we understood all the concepts.

Afterward, I told him we were so grateful and that we would appreciate him coming every time we met if it was alright with him. I also asked him how could he understand and explain each concept so well. Then he shared with me his secret, he said, every time in class, instead of taking notes from the slides, he would write how he could teach that same class if it was him, what examples he would use, and stuff like that. He said he wanted to be a science teacher but he was always too shy to talk in public. He was grateful we had invited him because this sessions could help him get over his stage fright. The rest of us were also very grateful that we had a chance of passing this class. By enrolling him in our group, he felt empowered to share with us what we lacked. And, in the process, all of us overcame our shortcomings.

This is the only picture we have from our honeymoon


And yes, there is nothing in the picture. Our camera broke as our plane lifted. And that was the beginning of a not-too-sweet honeymoon.

It was just like everything we had planned for that weekend just fell through; and even though the weather was perfect, we missed it all just because we just didn't open up to the world of possibilities that were there for us.

The third day we had to be back at the airport and again, due to our lack of organization, time management, and lots of blaming each other, we arrived late and missed our plane. That was it! There were no planes leaving that day to our destination. We got a rental car to Tampa and the cheapest flight back was over $2000 for that day per person. We were very upset, we were blaming each other, we couldn't see beyond ourselves. After much arguing, we were tired and mad. We sat down about three yards from each other. I don't remember how but suddenly we were engulfed by a most wonderful sunrise. The golden sun rays bleaching the purple sky reminded us of the love that we had for each other. I don't know how long we stared at that sensual image but when we were done we look in each other's direction and we smile for the first time that weekend. We ate some airport sandwiches together watching the rest of the sunrise. About 10 minutes later, my husband suggested we take the rental car back home (a 12-hour drive) and I said "sure!". The rest is history. We had an amazing time coming back home, we actually had time to talk, to stop and eat and enjoy the scenery, we had not had that much time together since the previous summer (this was in January) and this just proves that when we take a good dose of Rule #6 and accept things the way the are, we give into passion and our life takes a 180 degree turn.

I had forgotten about that incident, and reading chapters 6 through 8 made me realize how I need to give into passion more often, how I must not take myself too seriously because that tends to obstruct my personal relationships;and, most of all, I learned that when I accept the way things are, I can create the change I need to go on.