observing you will find Sage Explore…
“Slow Down.” “What are you not seeing here?” These were not easy, natural shifts for me. Rushing to the “right” answer, jumping forward with the “obvious” thing to do, even finishing peoples’ sentences because “I knew what they were going to say”… that was way more natural. And moving backward, to “less is more”, not doing but actually doing more observing is still a lifelong struggle. And I would love to tell you that I just realized it and moved to it… but sadly, that rarely happens. Your “natural” capacities and voices drive you forward until they run into a concrete wall of something that you can’t move. In my case, it was almost complete exhaustion from a year of relentless work that convinced me that I had to keep doing that way… harder is better… adrenaline is helpful… constant busyness is rewarded…
…if you really quiet those Saboteurs…
The voices of Restless, Hyper-Rational, Hyper-Achiever – there HAS to be a way forward. Interestingly, the answer was self-evident if I had deployed today’s Sage voice – Explore. We tend to latch onto the most obvious answer, draw conclusions, and act – before we even understand what we are actually facing. The Sage voice of Explore bids us to be curious, be open to things that may not be readily apparent. It aligns with observe by stepping back and looking for things that you and others may have missed. It was awakened as many things are by my wife – I commented, “Wow! The Christmas Tree looks great!!!”… and she remarked that she and the kids put it up… 2 weeks ago.
observing as The Fascinated Anthropologist
I mentioned before there were 4 hits out of 6 songs on Blind Faith’s only album. Today I will feature two – cheating again. 😉 The biggest hit on the album was a Steve Winwood composition that lends itself to Exploration/observing well… but also had a negative framing. That led me to one of my other favorites not just on the album but of all time. Sea of Joy is a great composition with lots of changes, different segments, and the sentiment was just exactly right for Explore. There is Joy out there – waiting for all of us to quiet our negative voices long enough to realize that there are different paths we can embrace once we see them clearly. “Staying curious” is a catchphrase in the coaching world – but it is no “hand jive”. It works. The Power Game that is associated with this is literally being a Fascinated Anthropologist. Dig into what is happening around you and the situation that you hadn’t noticed before… see if you find something that changes your view…
… and literally see what you have been missing…
Many of you will, like me, think that slowing down is not possible – there is just SO much to do. And I would never have done it either – if I hadn’t actually been forced to… my own exhaustion then started me awake into “… I have walked past a 10 foot tree in my house … for 2 weeks… and “didn’t notice”. Yea. That triggered something for sure. My coach had given me a prescription – Go home at 5, Pour a glass of wine. Drink. Repeat… which of course was ludicrous. I was WAY too busy (and WAY too important) for that. Now I had to try it… and like all things Sage, it takes time, and there are many off-ramps that the Saboteurs are more than happy to direct you down. But with support, I started Exploring and observing more and more… and that eventually produced lasting change – something that many people think is not possible. It is not… forgive the reference – Blind Faith… I found that in Exploring, there were better ways to do things… and better outcomes… if I could Slow down, see things… the promise of the Sage…
Eric hated practicing and sound checks – he lived for playing live for audiences… until he started to realize that was not only less rewarding, it was incredibly shallow. He couldn’t even see those people because of the floodlights. As he got older, he reframed it to find that he actually LOVED playing with the people on stage, and started showing up early for sound checks, and relished the time on stage. In Exploring for music today, I found the perfect track, and one where Eric has stepped back (and features the Bass Player). But the moment to watch for is about 2 minutes in… my Fascinated Anthropologist found after a short solo, he starts rocking back and forth… a sign of contentment. And then he starts a slow walk across the stage, literally embodying Exploration. I had missed it, but this time I stepped back and observed a man that had found, like I did, there is a Sea of JOY… and with a 10 foot Christmas tree, you CAN Find Your Way Back Home.
