Fractions of Wholeness

I believe it was in Algebra class that our teacher showed us that mathematically we can never arrive.  We were studying fractions.  He drew a line along the full length of the chalk board (long before whiteboards and Smartboards!).  He marked the left endpoint, A, and the right endpoint, B

Starting from left to right (A to B), he had one of us find the midpoint of the original line.  The next student had to find the midpoint of the remaining line (first midpoint to B); the next student had to find the midpoint of this new line (second midpoint to B); etc.  He was showing that we were moving closer to B, but we never arrived at B:  there was always another midpoint to find (no matter how small the space became).

How much do you want?
(Photo credit: Kid's Math - Introduction to Fractions, Ducksters)

 
Maybe it's this Mystery of Not Arriving that shaped other beliefs in my life.  For instance, when we look at what we have and what we want (e.g., dividing up a pie), we believe there is never enough to go around.  I have always believed there was more to share!

It's these Mysteries of Not Arriving, Sharing, Accepting, and Wholeness that have always intrigued me.  We can never fully see the Whole unless we share the Pieces.
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What do you see?  What do you imagine is missing?
(Photo: unfinished jigsaw puzzle,
Thomas Kinkade - Larry Gardepie)

Working with a non-profit several years ago, we talked through their Mission Statement.  Each director had a slightly different way of understanding how the mission applied to their departments of Client Services, Development, Finance and Administration, and the Kitchen.  It wasn't until this leadership team shared and understood their different perspectives that they could accept the broaden definition of what their organization represented.

Without dialogue (listening to understand) and without curiosity and acceptance, something was always missing... in their discussions and in their decision-making.

Are we ever whole?
(Photo: completed jigsaw puzzle,
Thomas Kinkade - Larry Gardepie)

I assume that because our world is so complex and diverse, we need one another.  Each person has a strength, a talent, a hope and dream that completes who we are.  Remaining in an EITHER-OR ideology removes keys parts of our puzzle.  We will never fully arrive without the other person's thoughts and worldview.

Dialogue does not mean that we give up our values and what we believe to be true.  Instead, when we listen to understand, we expand the sandbox that we are playing in to include a broader view.

My life's goal is to be Whole-y Holy: which means I want to understand you; I want to share what is missing; I want to accept Fractions of Wholeness... so that we all arrive together!

What is your goal?  How might I help?
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

Seek and Build Together

What do E-G-B-D-F, F-A-C-E, and Do-Re-Mi have in common?  As I was growing up, I remember learning the music scales of Every-Good-Boy-Does-Fine and FACE, but when Sound of Music introduced us to Do-Re-Mi, I was totally lost!  I never understood how the music scale mnemonics and this catchy tune worked together.

In fact, after all these years of my musical confusion, I still resist reading music and I can't sing a note correctly without standing next to someone who reads music and sings with confidence.  It is as if my childhood music lessons are on separate tracks that never converged.

Are there ideas that never intersect for you?
(Photo:  train tracks outside Santa Barbara, CA,
Larry Gardepie)

This memory came to mind last week while in church.  I was leafing through the worship guide to check which songs I knew.  The song for the Preparation of Gifts was "This is My Song" sung to the Finlandia tune.  I don't recall seeing or hearing this hymn before, so I read through the lyrics and tried to walk myself through the notes (A-G-A-B...).  I noticed that I was becoming frustrated:  I could figure out the notes but I still didn't know what they meant vocally.  When the Cantor stepped up and began practicing some of the songs and responses, I relaxed:  someone would be guiding us through the liturgy;  I didn't have to figure it out myself!

In that moment I was reminded that each of us has gifts and talents which open us to unique possibilities and potential.  We don't all have to be the same.  We don't have to do it alone!

Do you assume that you have to do everything well?
(Photo credit:  Unknown)

When it was time to sing "This is My Song" I was ready:

• I may not understand all of the notes in my life, but I have gifts to offer.
• I may not be confident when new situations arise, but there have been mentors to guide me along the way.
• I may not be strong in all things, but as the song suggests, we must seek and build together.

 

What gifts do you share with the world?
~~ Click on photo credit link to view video and listen to song ~~
(Photo credit:  A Tribute to All Nations, YouTube)

Through confusion, frustration, and feeling inadequate, I am learning humility -- that quality to see myself in perspective and in relationship with others.  Each person has worth and value.  Every neighborhood, city, state, region, and country adds to the whole.  We must get beyond the myths of individualism and nationalism to understand that we need to listen to and accept the diversity that already exists.  Negating others and their truths actually diminishes who we are... individually and collectively.

I would invite you to click on the YouTube link, A Tribute to Nations, and consider the beauty that each country offers... that we offer one another.

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)