Dr. Patrick Williams |
Messages from the Founder
January 2008
"There is no way to peace. Peace is the way." These
immortal words spoken by Gandhi are the only truth about
peace that will lead to its ever being realized in our
world. (Read Peace is the Way by Deepak Chopra) You and I must
strive toward peaceful living in our homes, with our
families, our communities and our world. That means
to be purposeful and conscious of our actions and communications
every day. And when we find ourselves not at peace,
act! Do something peaceful, or "peace-creating." Be
anonymously kind to someone, or be of service to a stranger.
Give a gift for no reason other than that of love.
We all can be less apathetic and more responsible (response
able). What daily actions are you taking for peace?
What self-limiting beliefs about the world and about
other cultures are you not challenging? Anger and violence
seem to be dominating human attitudes today and yet
I know that there are millions of quiet peacemakers.
Maybe it is time to be more vocal, more actionable,
and more authentic. How can we find ways to mobilize
our "global warming" amongst humans that I wrote about
in the last newsletter?
John F Kennedy said "those who make peaceful revolution
impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable."
It has been 40 years since Martin Luther King was assassinated
for being a peacemaker, but his powerful words still
ring true, "Mankind must evolve for all human conflict
a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation.
The foundation of such a method is LOVE."
In Speak Peace in a World of Conflict by Marshall Rosenberg,
he teaches to create peace by connecting to life at
three levels:
- Creating peace within ourselves.
- Creating peaceful connections with others.
- Transforming the structures we have created — corporate,
judicial, governmental, and others — that don’t
support peaceful, life-enriching connections between
us.
And in The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute,
the the character of Yusuf says, "lasting solutions
to our outward conflicts are possible only to the extent
we find real solutions to our inner ones."
Peace is the way, and the path begins within us, then
we can journey toward peace with others in our community
and hopefully that will spread.
"Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely
a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does
to himself. All things are bound together. All things
connect." Chief Seattle.
How can you help? What will you do differently? Send
your ideas and thoughts to me.
December,
2007
The world needs global warming . . . not the environmental
kind, but the relational kind!!!! Every day in the news
we see articles about the rapid increase of global warming
and its disastrous effects on the environment. What
if we begin to see a quickening of global warming in
the way people, individuals, families, communities,
and countries, relate to one another? What if this movement
grew so fast that it surprised everyone? What if the
walls that separate us from acting as though we cherish
and honor each other came crashing down as the icebergs
in Antarctica? What if the temperature of warmth in
all relationships began to rise?
I have had the good fortune to travel to many countries
around the globe in the last 10 years spreading the
word about coaching, both for ILCT and for the profession
at large. I have noticed that people everywhere respond
well to human friendliness despite the politics of the
countries. If you act friendly, you are treated with
friendliness. If you are courteous, you are treated
courteously. If you ask people about themselves with
non-judgmental curiosity, they respond with glee and
openness.
My belief in what the spread of authentic coaching
conversations could do for the world is enormous. What
would it take to start a coaching conversation movement
similar to what the woman in Africa who is planting
millions of trees did. Or think about the young teenagers
who started “cell phones for soldiers” as
a way for the armed service men and women around the
globe to communicate affordably with their families.
How many other great movements have started with just “a
good idea shared with friends?” What would it
take to get coaching conversations as a buzzword on
UTube, My space, Google, Yahoo, and blogs everywhere?
I believe that people really want to feel more connected
to others and curiosity about other cultures is better
than prejudice that prevents openness to learning.
Let me know how we can start Global Warming in People’s
hearts and spread this message around the globe. December
is a time for celebrating many religious holidays, the
winter solstice, and a time of hope and desires for
peace and loving expressions. Wouldn’t it be great
if that spark kindled a huge expression and outpouring
of warmth that would begin to shock the experts and
the political leaders?
Will you help? Send me your
ideas let’s do something to create
an increase in human global warming in all relationships
we touch!
Margaret Wheatley perhaps said it best: "Relationships
are all there is. Everything in the universe only
exists because it is in relationship to everything
else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop
pretending we are individuals who can go it alone.
I believe we can change the world if we start listening
to one another again. Simple, honest, human conversation.
Not mediation, negotiation, problem solving, debate,
or public meetings. Simple, truthful conversations
where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel
heard, and we each listen well."
|
