Jeffrey Patnaude, An excerpt from:
Leading from the Maze: A Personal Pathway to Leadership
Questions for the Ongoing Journey, pages 151-153
As we travel inward and outward through the maze, we ask ourselves the following questions:
Do we recognize that we are all on a journey and that where we are is exactly where we are supposed to be? Can we be patient with ourselves and with others in remembering that there is more to become?
Can we identify so closely with the consequence of each choice that we will make decisions that result in integrity and truth and contribute to doing what is right?
Out of caring for ourselves, are we willing to let go of the dragons and restore a much desired balance to our frantic lives? Will we be so committed to balance that we will create healthy and whole workplaces, wherein all who pass through will be stronger, healthier, and happier leaving than when they entered?
Are we courageous enough to identify so deeply with the universe’s divine imagination that we access the creativity necessary to provide solutions to questions that seem unanswerable?
Can we be silent long enough to listen to the inner voice of intuition that speaks from the heart to confirm what the mind has pondered?
Can we remain vital, grounded, and grateful enough to celebrate life as joy with all of its pain as well as its delight?
Will we have courage enough to discover the authentic power of serving that brings us to touch the lives of those in need?
In turn, are we courageous enough to trust others to touch our lives as we discover that we are not separate from those in need; we are those in need?
Finally, will we allow compassion to serve as our mentor, our guide to discovering the deepest expression of who we are?
What if, within our organizations, our work became the practice of compassion – the practice of seeing with new eyes for the express purpose of encouraging integrity in ourselves and our co-workers? We might discover loneliness, a hunger to make a contribution and a difference, and a thirst for spirit in the workplace among those with whom we work – all previously hidden behind pretense or protected by dragons. Time and time again, I have seen that for most authentic leaders, money is not the ultimate goal or value. What they seek is to make a contribution and to see that their work has meaning.
Historically, human beings and their activities have created problems that others – enlightened leaders – have had to solve decades later. Unmitigated fear has incited individuals to turn against other individuals, nation against nation.
The maze is a divine puzzle that holds ancient yet powerful answers to current problems. Until very recently, we have accepted the illusion that we live in an infinitely expanding frontier with limitless natural resources. Consequently, we have even turned against our own natural environment as we reach for domination and control.
When we drop labor that defiles and harms our earth and when we assume the mantle of a leader who feels compassion for all co-workers and fellow planet dwellers, then our work will be our joy. When we transform our work from a duty to our delight, the world around us will change markedly.
The journey in and out of the maze takes leadership to a new level of meaning, a place of authentic solutions. To travel the winding road to the inner self is the most important journey we make. Within the maze, discoveries are made and inspiration received. It is a path we are called to walk, an ancient path, but one that will lead to a momentous new direction for the powerful leaders of today and tomorrow.
– Jeffrey Patnaude