Memories, Reflections, and Hope

Time... The passage of Time... moments that cannot be reclaimed.  It is again time to listen... and to learn.

The end of another year prompts reflection for many of us.  And, the beginning of a new year promises new beginnings.  What have I learned?  What can I hope for?

Politically, this past year has been filled with controversy and continued division.  Professionally, my work team has transitioned and we are learning new roles.  Personally, I am calmer and more patient.

Why am I calm?  What am I learning about myself that I can — for the most part! — be patient in times of controversy, division, and change?

Reflections:  Stories Competing and Colliding
(Honolulu skyline at night)

As the pace of the world increases and more is required of us to stay relevant, I am finding that when I slow down and notice what is happening, I can pause... look at the options... and respond in a more holistic and creative way.

One tool that has helped me is the ability to ask questions.  I am learning that questions don’t necessarily lead a conversation to where I already have the answers, directing people to conclusions I have already made.  Rather, questions have helped me to:

• Gather new information;
• Check out assumptions I have made; and,
• Cultivate an attitude of curiosity.

Reflections:  Stories Eclipsing Others
(Lunar eclipse 2018)

As I listen to other people and their experiences of and approach to life, a broader worldview is revealed.  Life may not be as myopic or one way (“my way).  The beliefs I have become accustomed to and held so dearly may not necessarily be in conflict with others.  Instead, they may be more similar than I first imagined.

I have found that another person’s values don’t necessarily eclipse my own.  Instead, by allowing seemingly competing values to coexist, I begin to see new light shining from what was previously a dark night, created by my own mind.

Reflections:  A New Year is Dawning

As a new day dawns, the time before us is pristine and unexplored.  Maybe we can set earlier divisions aside... slow down... ask questions... and allow hope to exist.  Maybe the once dualistic “Win-Lose” or “My Way or the Highway” mentalities can be transformed into questions posed like Max, the new medical director at the New Amsterdam hospital (a current TV series:

• What can I do?
• How can I help?
• What do you need?

The choice for us each new year — and each day — is:  how do I want to live... divided and separated?... or united and whole?  The choice is ours, individually and collectively.

My hope is that our questions and experiences transform us into the people and world we want to become!

Blessings to you!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)