Know the sunlight
While confronting the shadows,
Becoming a leader to all.
Tao Te Ching, 28
We experience a daily deluge of information—news, gossip, external demands, TV, radio, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and more. But we are much more than information. As astrophysicists remind us, we are made of the very elements of the stars. And, accordingly, the light of inspiration is essential to our nature. Without inspiration, that sense of meaning that illuminates our lives, something within us withers and dies. As Viktor Frankl found in a Nazi concentration camp, those people inspired by a sense of meaning–with someone to love, a book to write, something to live for–survived while others lost hope and died.
Great leaders have always communicated inspiration, bringing hope to the people around them. In the dark days of the Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt affirmed that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” During the Battle of Britain, Churchill raised his people’s spirits, affirming that this was Britain’s “finest hour.” In the 1960s, John F. Kennedy’s inaugural challenged Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” and Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech touched the hearts of a nation.
A vital task for any leader is to communicate with heart, inspiring those around us. This does not mean imposing our will on a group and calling it vision. As Steve Privett, President of the University of San Francisco, once said, a leader must learn to “resonate with the sensus fidelium of a group.” All groups have a sense of who they are and what they believe in, values often hidden beneath the surface. A wise leader can discern these unspoken beliefs and articulate them, holding up a beacon of hope to light the path to the future.
Now it’s your turn–to break through the constant clamor of information to discover the light of inspiration within and around you.
Take a moment to pause, close your eyes, and ask: “Where do I find inspiration? When do I feel vividly, vitally alive?”
- Think of a time when you felt a deep sense of joy—centered, energized, most authentically yourself.
- Now ask, “What can I do to tap into this well of inspiration in my life today?”
- Or think of someone you admire.
- What character strength does this person represent for you?
- Now ask, “What is one thing I can do to express this quality in my life?”
As a leader—in your community, your workplace, or as a citizen in a democracy that calls us all to be leaders—how can you communicate inspiration:
- Listen more mindfully to the people around you?
- Discover essential common ground?
- Recognize the sensus fidelium of your group?
In our fragmented, frantic society, when you can listen for inspiration within and around you, and communicate with heart, you will bring the light of healing to our world.
Namaste,
Diane