Q-Blog #25, DO!

My return to Iraq has been quite interesting. In many ways things are the same and yet, there is a difference. This is neither good nor bad. It just is.

AAFES, the US military and contractors have learned from the experience of these past three years and have matured to a degree. Humvee’s are better equipped to go out on patrol, we now have a water plant, roads are paved and there is a significant improvement in overall living conditions. Listening to people who were not previously here, you would think that nothing has been accomplished and that we have a long way to go. For those who had/have been here previously, you hear the contradiction of how far we have come and how much things have improved. They (we) are happy, if not satisfied, with where things are now. There is more to do, but much has been done.

Last year I wrote a Blog on perspective. It talked about how easy it is to lose sight of reality because we tend to see things through the filters of our experience and prejudices. I believe each of us needs to do what Robin Williams asked his class to do in the movie, ‘Dead Poets Society’. He asked them to first look at things around them as they sat. Then he asked them to stand up on their desks and look at the same things around them, but from a different perspective.

The reality I see is that we have come a long way, but we still have work to do. We are still in a war zone. We do have our experiences, our history and knowledge of where we want to be. The challenge is finding a place, a middle ground, from which to work; a place where judgment is not being passed. Instead we are working towards a mutual goal. We are working towards that place where we want to be.

The process is not exclusive to organizations; it applies to our lives as well. I find myself in a constant battle between the part of me that realizes how far I’ve come and the part of me that knows how much work I’ve yet to do. I can hear my own time clock tick, tick, ticking away and I wonder if there will be sufficient time. The moment I write those words, I suddenly hear the voice of my friends Jim Frederick and Billy Miller, who are wonderful examples of how we ought to live life. They tell me and others to simply, “ Live life by DOING!” Not live life by “thinking” about doing, or “putting off” doing, but everyday, DO something towards your goal. The goal of the person you intend on being, the profession you intend on working in. DO something, anything, towards the physical, emotional, spiritual and mental manifestation of the gifts you possess and the self actualized person the universe intends you to be.

I’ve been blessed with other friends who have gone out and DONE things to move them to who they are. Trish, Tom, Tim, Eddie, Jay, Susan, my sister Angela and others who have gone against the norms of society, not only seeking their gifts, but moved towards them by DOING. Their gift(s) as a person of the spirit, a social worker, an instructor, Flamenco dancer or artist were then realized. Their gifts—our gifts--create a connection between humanity and our spiritual selves.

Each decade of my life I’ve been able to apply a name or a general label. Something that described the emotional level or stage that seemed to stand out when I looked back. The Child. The Dreamer. The Worker. The Lover. As I approach the conclusion of another decade of my life I know that I want to apply the label, The Doer. Though I believe I’ve worked hard most of my life, I have yet to DO enough of the things that will lead me to….well, me and the gifts I have.

My once partner Jim J. is an incredibly gifted human being. Beyond having the highest IQ of anyone I know, he has an incredible ability to remove his filters and view a situation, a circumstance, an event, from a bird’s eye view. He can argue or support any side and every side. That is not his greatest gift. His greatest gift is his ability to see all sides and find the ground of consensus that would be in the best interest of all involved. As we look at our world, our government, our families and our own lives, wouldn’t it be great to have someone like Jim to help us cut through our filters and move to do that which would benefit everyone? In fact, wouldn’t it be great if WE just ‘stood up on our desk’, looked at things from a ‘bird’s eye view’ removing our own filters and making the decisions that were best for all humanity?

As Jim Frederick has said to me over and over and over again, “…you just have to start DOING it…and the rest will come.”

Climb up on a desk, car, mountain or any other thing that will give you a different perspective. Take a breath in and remove your filters. See past your experiences and your prejudices, then breathe out. Now, start doing.

DO choose LOVE over fear.

Blessings and Peace,

Robert….