Transforming an Idea 

Recently, I had the pleasure of listening to Bob Anderson (o-author with William Adams of the book, Mastering Leadership) as part of a course offered by Coaches Rising (https://www.coachesrising.com/artofdevelopmentalcoaching/ ).

As part of his presentation, Bob read us the following poem by Goethe:

Tell a wise person, or else keep silent,
because the mass man will mock it right away.
I praise what is truly alive, 
what longs to be burned to death. 

In the calm water of the love-nights,
where you were begotten, where you have begotten,
a strange feeling comes over you,
when you see the silent candle burning.

Now you are no longer caught in the obsession with darkness,
and a desire for higher love-making sweeps you upward. 

Distance does not make you falter.
Now, arriving in magic, flying, 
and finally, insane for the light, 
you are the butterfly and you are gone. 
And so long as you haven’t experienced this: to die and so to grow, 
you are only a troubled guest on the dark earth.

(Translated from the German by Robert Bly; The Holy Longing, read by Olivia Milward:  http://www.favoritepoem.org/poem_FromtheHolyLonging.html )

It bears repeating, and in the re-reading of this poem, notice what lands for you. For me, the reference to death and growth and the butterfly bring to mind the process of transformation.

Transformation is “a complete change in the appearance or character of something or someone, especially so that thing or person is improved” (Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/transformation ). One example is the process of metamorphosis that a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. To be born anew, to become what it is meant to become, the caterpillar must form a chrysalis and surrender its old form and identity. And, so it is with us. In order to change and evolve, we must allow an old identity or way of being to die, essentially, in service of becoming a better version of ourselves.

In his presentation, Bob Anderson offered some powerful questions for us to ponder and discuss with a partner, interview-style:

• If you were to live more fully, courageously, and authentically; how would you live differently?
• Why is that important? (Repeat 3 times)
• What is the risk for you in that? (Repeat 3 times)

In asking the second and third questions multiple times, the power of an iterative question tends to yield somewhat different answers, and often on deeper levels…until the responder identifies what is most important to her and what the biggest risk is in living differently. You might try taking turns asking someone who can serve as a committed listener for you, and see what emerges for each of you in the answering.

In this time of visible transformation in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere from Winter to Spring, from bare tree branches and barren ground to trees filling out with bright green leaves and flowers budding and blooming, this is a rich inquiry to be in. As you imagine the lushness of Spring and Summer yet to come, you might take time to imagine alternative (although not necessarily better) versions of Bob Anderson’s questions:

• What is the better, new/improved version of yourself that is calling you?
• What might be possible if you were to transform in some way? How would your life, work, and relationships be different?
• What’s the first step in that direction?

Then tap into why this transformation matters and the inherent possibility:

Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute:
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it;
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

(attributed to Goethe, a translation of Faust:  https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/02/09/boldness/ )

Resources

Anderson, Robert J. and Adams, William A. Mastering Leadership, Wiley Publishing, 2015. ISBN-10: 1119147190.