Wider Openings
To address some of the challenges facing our world, we must enter wider Openings – together.
Wider Openings
When American astronauts landed on the moon, we entered an Opening that changed our perspective. A picture taken from the spaceship presented earth as a lone planet in a vast space. It was a contrast to our view of the earth as an immense, strong planet stretching for miles and miles. The landing was described as “One giant leap for mankind” and it was.
These wider Openings beckon beyond the individual. They ask for us to enter together. Wider Openings bring wider movement and change. What they offer requires our collective participation. We may enter on our own, but as soon as we are through the Opening, we must begin to come together, pool our resources and create a collective vision for making the most of what the Opening is offering.
Wider Openings do enhance our individual journeys as well. We learn and grow from them in a different way. We are a collective humanity and that is a part of our individual journey as well. We are interdependent and some things must be done together. If we can create harmony in a wider Opening, we have more power together and our results reflect this. Wider openings have their place in all of our lives.
Entering Together
In a narrow Opening that we enter alone, we rely on our individual energy and momentum. Choices are our ours to make. We draw primarily on our individual resources, strength and intelligence. If we course-correct, we do so alone. We adapt and use insight based on our individual experiences and make-up. Our focus is our own fulfillment and maintaining the meaning and purpose of our life. The Opening brings us forward in our individual journeys.
Wider Openings require that many enter and come together with common purpose. This is essential to getting the most from a wider Opening. Our collective journeys are complicated and complex – with wider Openings we need more than our individual selves.
Wider Openings often require more than what one individual can provide. They bring us together for bigger movement and collective growth. The sooner we enter them and the more harmonious our relationships with each other are, the faster we go.
➟ Are you looking for wider Openings or have you entered one? Let’s talk about how you can make the most of wider Openings.
How to Do This
Initially within a wider Opening a collaboration must be built with respect, authenticity and clear communication. At times, this occurs naturally. Other times, there is work involved that is well worth the effort and time. This work is best done organically – according to the people, energies and circumstances involved. Here are some suggestions for achieving collaboration within a wider Opening:
- Look at what brought the collaboration together through this wider Opening – a joint cause, need, insight, concern or interest. Identify the collaboration’s purpose and what everyone wants to achieve together.
- Begin to look at the collaboration as “us”.
- Identify common ground among the collaboration’s members. Then move on to differences.
- Identify a process by which the collaboration will settle differences.
- Set a timeline and plan for what the collaboration will do. Establish roles of individuals within the collaboration.
These are just a few ideas. Their intention is to get everyone thinking as a group and to make the most of a wider Opening.
Why We Must Enter Wider Openings Now
The journalist Amanda Ripley writes that we are now in a time of “high conflict”. She offers that discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, the kind with an us and them. In this state, the brain behaves differently. We feel increasingly certain of our own superiority and, at the same time, more and more mystified by the other side. Conflict itself has taken over.
We have big decisions to make regarding the future direction of the world and our societies. We will have to do it, initially, in an environment of polarity, divisiveness, animosity and growing differences. We must remake our relationship to the natural world. We must address the violence and enmity that exists in so many societies. Wider Openings are available to us now but are harder to find or to enter amid division and separation. They ask for our creativity, intelligence, persistence and intelligence.
Can we rise to wider Openings? We must.
photo: nasa.com
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