On Leadership

It was an “October Bright Blue Weather” day. I strolled along a country road, happy to be nowhere in particular and everywhere in general. A national election of momentous import was playing out and from countryside to cityscape I couldn’t escape the constant bombardment. I’d made up my mind for whom I’d vote fully four years earlier when my country had embarrassed itself, alienated the majority of its voters, and distanced all but our worst enemies by electing a bombastic infantile egocentric con-man. It was with thoughts of his four inept and divisive years that I settled in the shade of an apple tree to think about good leadership.

There was a time in my professional career when everything fell into place. For a time, it seemed that the sun erased all shadow from wherever I placed a foot, everything I touched was golden, and both those above and below me sought my counsel. The curious thing is that that time followed immediately upon a decision I made not to pursue an egotistically-motivated leadership role that I knew would go to a colleague who was less qualified than myself. I told myself and a close friend that my motivation for seeking the position over my colleague was not motivated by ego, but I realized within days of making that statement that it was false. As soon as I released myself from the grips of pride and focused on how I could promote the greatest good, my path became clear and I felt the strength of purpose born of humility and unselfish modesty. The big idea that I had born, nurtured for many years, and been waiting for the right time to introduce to my organization as a model for our benefit and that of society at large was now ready to be unveiled. Having reaped the benefits of my good intentions and come into possession of great influence, my hope for the world came down to aligning my vision with action in six parts.

It was a heady time because my ideas and recommendations were starting to receive serious attention. At the same time, the ideas were relatively new and I had not yet received any meaningful challenges to their relevance or feasibility. I knew that having arrived at this fortuitous time by forgoing my pride, the initial steps along this new path had to be taken with equally pure intent to avoid stumbling. I’d heard it said that “no pride, therefore no harm” and I was determined to avoid missteps. I decided to let the ideas speak for themselves and trusted that others would agree that I was on to something when they read my explanation of how the ideas were applicable to the many diverse stakeholder groups our organization served. Stage 1: One who is in great possession without pride has made no mistake.

Having equipped myself with the proper frame of mind and unveiled my idea publicly, my next acts were to recruit helpers and supply them with the wherewithal to convey the idea to others. It felt like I was organizing an orchestra of volunteers who all shared the desire to be a part of performing my masterpiece. And, while I knew in my heart that the piece I’d written was my best work, I knew that like any creation, in time it would be open to interpretation and take on a life of its own. Nevertheless, I was pleased to be conducting what I felt was the most beautiful and complicated of musical scores as performed by everyone from novices to virtuosos for an audience ranging from skeptics to admirers. As the music wafted throughout the organization, I was rewarded by inquiries from others who sought to add to the happening in whichever ways they were able. I welcomed them all. Stage 2: Resources and helpers abound – go for it!

While my idea was novel to my organization and still somewhat unfamiliar to many people, I by no means claimed ownership or exclusivity. Quite the contrary, I did what I could to publicize what, why, and how we were doing it and encouraged others to explore how the ideas resonated within their own organizations. In my mind, the more people and organizations that embraced these ideas and aligned their values and behaviors with them, the sooner we’d achieve the much-overdue and long-awaited paradigm shift that might just avert the greatest existential threat of the Anthropocene. Stage 3: Being generous with one’s abilities and possessions benefits all.

It was hard at times to avoid feeling left out of the decision-making cadre of the organization. While I’d held more central roles in the past, in recent years others had been assigned to positions that I once held or aspired to. I felt marginalized by the senior leadership of the organization and considered leaving the organization on several occasions. Each time, I managed to shun envy and quell my pride. I kept my distance with professional courtesy from those in power and saw from that vantage point the weaknesses of their leadership styles. My unchallenged technical expertise and my indisputable seniority, while not tangible, were my most valuable possessions. With them I had the authority to focus on the important business at hand and avoid the distractions that come with power and responsibility. Stage 4: Shunning envy and the temptation to dwell on the riches of others, one remains focused on what is important.

I don’t know if I was what would be called a charismatic leader at that time: maybe it was me, maybe it was their friends, maybe they were just curious.  For whatever reason, people wanted to be a part of what we were doing. I was straightforward about the challenges before us and the consequences of inaction. Perhaps it was my sincerity and honesty that was inspirational. Maybe I just scared them all into action. Whatever the cause, I knew that as the leader of the initiative, I had to play the role. To that end I strived to present an even and professional demeanor at all times. Stage 5: Keeping presumption in check through dignity, one’s sincere benevolence shines through to inspire others.

That was a time of great progress. It seemed that those around me aligned their priorities in accordance with the good. Perhaps it was the fact that as a society we had just endured four years of our worst national leader in the history of our nation. I think that the racist, mean-spirited, narcissistic, xenophobic, bigoted, and disingenuous nature of our nation’s leader created a goodness void that people were ready to have filled. I stepped into that void in my small corner of the world with generosity, humility, and the ability to demonstrate that society could coexist in harmony with the natural environment. After all the pettiness, divisiveness, and buffoonery, I think people were nostalgic for some compassion, kindness, and honesty. People were ready to rebuild what he had helped destroy and I helped them feel like they could take matters into their own hands and make a difference again. Stage 6: At the height of power one remains modest, devoted to the good, and appreciative.

As I laced my boots and prepared to resume my trek I thanks the thoughtful person who had planted the trees there and the caring ones who had tended them. I recalled Lao Tzu’s thoughts on leadership:

The best rulers are those whose existence is merely known by the people.
The next best are those who are loved and praised.
The next are those who are feared.
And the next are those who are despised.
It is only when on does not have enough faith in others that others will have no faith in him.
The great rulers value their words highly.
They accomplish their task; they complete their work.
Nevertheless, their people say that they simply follow Nature.

The true art of good leadership seemed to me to be the ability to be perceived not as leading but simply unleashing the potential of the people one aims to help. Being helpful to others in whichever ways one is able demonstrates a willingness to see beyond one’s own ego and be of service. Leadership is not as much about having others follow as it is about providing the means for others to be empowered to grow, explore, discover, and learn for themselves. Good leaders guide rather than dictate. We must keep the ego in check, focus on the service of others, and recognize that one’s success is often due to the collective efforts of others. In such situations, we’d do well to recall the Chinese proverb: “One loses by pride and gains by modesty.”

#ClimateStrike

I was worried as I arrived at Pittsburgh’s version of the global climate strike with a friend at about 11:40 on a beautiful Friday morning the 20^th of September 2019.  I was worried that the Pittsburgh region wasn’t going to make me proud.  I’d already seen the massive crowds assembled in Brisbane, Luxembourg, and other large and small cities to the east across the ocean that Greta Thunberg had just weeks before traversed in a zero-carbon emissions sailboat to help focus global attention on the climate crisis.  I didn’t expect Pittsburgh to mobilize anywhere near the numbers who were rallying with Greta in New York City that morning, but I’d hoped to see school buses convoying into the downtown, hordes of people streaming with signs toward the rally point, and streets cordoned off by police cruisers.  Instead it was quiet and I was feeling both embarrassed that our turnout might not measure up and glad that my friend and I added two to the small crowd that was gathering.

As we made our way to the Climate Reality Project table where protest signs were available, we were shocked to hear two professionally-dressed older white men confronting the teenager who stood by herself behind the table.  They were accusing her of “child abuse.” They said it wasn’t right to be frightening children with unfounded worries and they insisted that she present facts to support claims that there’s a crisis.  I’d seen both these guys around town in my professional capacity and I wasn’t surprised to hear the venom coming from two global warming deniers.  I was surprised though to see them ganging up on a youth volunteer at a peaceful demonstration.

Playing a “child abuse” card seemed odd.  Did they not see the irony in accusing a teenager of child abuse when it was clearly they who were abusing this young person’s rights to peacefully assemble?  Later, my friend discovered that the conservative, Washington Examiner, had run a piece by Tiana Lower on 8/29/19 wherein Greta’s parents along with “climate alarmists” and the media were accused of child abuse.  The argument goes that Greta’s “stage-parents” are milking her “clinically diagnosed obsession” with the climate crisis as a way to regain the celebrity they enjoyed before Greta’s mission overshadowed their show business careers.  Lower concludes that, “Conservatives shouldn't mock her. They should worry for her. Social media has made it too easy to prop up children as moral authorities — even children especially predisposed to crack under the pressure.”

If anyone is cracking under pressure, it’s President Trump who suffered Greta’s scorn after mocking her impassioned speech to the UN.  The full transcript of her remarks can be found here, but to appreciate the intensity and passion with which she delivered them, do yourself a favor and listen (along with the more than 3 million others who had done so as of 9/23/19).  That the climate-change-denying leader of the largest economy on the planet (and the nation most responsible for this crisis) would crack is understandable after being schooled by Greta that, “for more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear” and that,

 “…you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.  You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: we will never forgive you.”

In response, the president tweeted: “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!”  The Commander in Chief of the most powerful nation on the planet feels it’s necessary to mock a 16-year old from Sweden?  With leadership like that, the mindset of the two thugs I observed attempting to bully the young climate strike volunteer is sadly understandable.

I’m glad my friend and I were there to observe and intercede.  Not that the volunteer really needed our help, it was just embarrassing to see and I guess we felt that two more older white guys entering the fray on the side of climate justice might help balance the equation.  They tired of having to tangle with people their own size pretty quickly after that and stalked off, probably seeking other youngsters to abuse.

But, by then, it was about noon and the crowd had grown significantly. Speeches commenced, youth leaders shared impassioned testimonials, adult supports including a member of the Electrical Workers Union voiced their support, and community and political leaders contributed to infusing the crowd with hope and action.

Then it was time to take to the streets and our march did Pittsburgh proud.  While I wish we had ten or twenty times the 500 or so who attended, we did stop traffic, turn pedestrian heads, and attract media attention.  Most importantly, we asserted ourselves as having the sovereign power that Al Gore wrote about that same day in the New York Times: 

“The people, in their true function as the sovereign power, are quickly understanding the truth of the crisis, and they are the ones who must act, especially because the president is not on speaking terms with the truth and seems well beyond the reach of reason.

This will require a ferocious attack on the complacency, complicity, duplicity and mendacity of those in Congress who have paid for their careers by surrendering their votes and judgment to powerful special interests that are sacrificing the planet for their greed.  To address the climate crisis, we must address the democracy crisis so that the people themselves can reclaim control of their destiny.”

To “reclaim control of their destiny” we all need to engage politically and reassert our sovereignty.  We do that by reevaluating, rethinking, and empowering ourselves with action.  As Reverend Jim Magaw said in a recent sermon to the Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills,

 “I have decided that I’d rather be part of a movement making history instead being pushed around by it… I will speak out in whatever way I can to point out the ways in which our leaders and our social, political and economic systems are continuing to cause great harm to people who are marginalized and oppressed and great harm to our planet, which is at risk of becoming uninhabitable in just a few generations because of our own human irresponsibility and recklessness…And I will act in such a way as to turn away from despair and turn toward hope.

…the only way to turn toward hope is to act. In the words of Greta Thunberg, “Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come.””

The Climate Reality Leadership Corps recommends actions such as those listed below that are aimed at stimulating others to rethink what’s needed, recognize what’s possible, and help change things:

·        Contact an influencer (call, write, or meet with elected officials and community/business leaders);

·        Write letters and op-eds (whether published or not, get your message out to the media for a wider distribution);

·        Post a blog (share your thoughts, concerns, and ideas on social media or other electronic forums);

·        Publish news articles (if you have access to a publication, submit an article);

·        Participate in an event (get out, pitch in, share ideas, and engage with others!);

·        Meet with co-leaders (collaboration with others who share your passion goes a long way toward helping us persevere and have fun);

·        Mentor others (share your expertise and passion with others in training events or informal gatherings);

·        Organize an event (inspire others to come out and get involved by arranging an educational event, a workshop, a petition drive, a rally, a strike, or other activity);

·        Appear in the media (if you have access to TV, radio, or other public media formats, get interviewed and speak up!);

·        Host a webinar (get your message out to a mass audience and let it live in perpetuity); and

·        Give a presentation (this is the core action that Climate Reality Leaders are trained to deliver to groups large and small using the latest information assembled in high-quality graphics by the Climate Reality Project).

I’m hopeful that this climate strike represents a societal tipping point that will propel us toward sweeping policy changes that will have large-scale and long-term benefits.  I only hope that our collective actions come quickly enough to re-balance the already-tipping climate scale before humanity is tipped off entirely.

Climate Change, Sustainability, and Community

I’ve been thinking about behavioral change in response to environmental issues for a long time now.  Forty years ago I wrote a freshman college paper entitled, The Need for an Attitudinal Change wherein I characterized consumerism as a disease that society needed to cure for humanity to survive.  Seven years later for my MS thesis, I evaluated the potential for economic incentives to alter patterns of electricity consumption and the resulting power plant air pollution levels.  Soon after that I embarked on a career as an environmental consultant with the naive expectation that we’d clean up the environment while society got its house in order and quit making such a mess.  In the 1990s as editor of the Slippery Rock University newsletter founded by my father, The Alternator, I explored the concept of sustainability and, among other things, advocated for consumers to use their purchasing clout to help redirect social priorities toward sustainable systems.  Several years ago, I devised a “Philosophy of Sustainability” that was posted here (http://hermitorhero.blogspot.com/2012/02/a-philosophy-of-sustainability.html) wherein I identified six behaviors I feel are key to society achieving sustainable lifestyles: harmony with natural processes, reverence and respect for all things, moderation, cooperation, conservation, and taking responsibility.

I feel like my personal choices and actions have been consistent with the principles I’ve espoused for all these years, but that they have not been as impactful as I wish they’d been.  Intellectually, I embrace my Philosophy of Sustainability, but I’m not satisfied that my actions speak as loudly as my words.  My wife and I have taken many steps over the years to lessen our environmental footprint but as it becomes more and more apparent that society’s consumption of fossil fuels and production of plastic junk is far from abating, I’m asking myself how I can do more.

In the fall of 2017 I attended Al Gore’s Climate Reality training with the hope of stimulating not only myself, but other people as well.  While I’m on track to complete the requisite number of leadership activities I committed to perform this year and those actions may have inspired some others to take action, I’m looking to do more.

With that challenge in mind, I helped to create a Green Team at my office of 350 environmental engineers and scientists this year.  With the interest of a core group, the support of office management, and the guidance of an excellent Playbook produced for the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge (https://www.spchallenge.org/) we are working through a variety of self-selected goals such as reducing our use of plastic and Styrofoam, more effective paper recycling, and establishing baselines of energy use and transportation choices with accompanying improvement targets.

These are all good things and it’s rewarding to be working with young folks who are enthusiastic about sustainability.  But, at the same time I’m reminded of articles I published in The Alternator decades ago that listed simple things that people can do at home to be more sustainable.  Item 2 from a list published in Volume 8, No. 4 (Summer 1994) was “buy in bulk and take your own shopping bag.”  While some people recognized that single-use plastic bags were unsustainable way back then, it took thirteen years for San Francisco to become the first jurisdiction in California to ban their use.  Then, nine years later in 2016, California became the first state to prohibit stores from providing them to customers.  So, while individually we often know what is better, societally it can take a long time to move the needle on a large scale.  And that’s just one example.  So, as I start my 60^th year I’ve been asking myself why it is that I haven’t made more substantial changes in behavior, even if my attitude has been in a sustainable frame of mind for 40 years. 

It’s definitely not a matter of “out of sight, out of mind.”  Media coverage brings wild fires, melting ice caps, and plastic waste into our homes nightly.  I don’t have to live in a coastal area like Miami where routine high tides now flood city streets or in northern California where hotter weather has led to longer fire seasons, to know we have problems.  And even though western Pennsylvania has been largely unscathed by climate change so far, the prevalence of flash flooding has noticeably increased and the deep winter snows of my youth are long gone.

It’s also not a matter of thinking my individual actions (positive or negative) don’t matter.  I realize that the problems are the consequence of many individual decisions and that the solutions will similarly require the collective effort of many individual actions.

And, it’s not that I don’t know what to do (or what not to do)?  The things we can do lessen our environmental impacts have been known about since environmental awareness started. There have been numerous guides published over the last few decades with tips on “how to save the planet.”  But making these choices part of one’s daily lifestyles does take effort and when society makes it easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing (like using plastic straws instead of paper), it takes a conscious effort to avoid being part of the problem.  When we can make sustainability easy, more people will make those choices.  And, when society decides as a whole, like the California’s proposition on one-use bags, the decision about how to do the right thing is made for us.

Fundamentally, I think it’s a matter of insufficient incentives and disincentives.  Besides ethical and moral reasons to do the right thing environmentally, the value proposition isn’t always obvious.  Economists like Susan Meeker-Lowry (Economics as If the Earth Really Mattered, New Society Publishers, 1988); Robert Costanza (Ecological Economics: The Science and Management of Sustainability, Columbia University Press, 1991); and Hazel Henderson (Building a Win-Win World, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1995) have helped us understand the value of protecting the environment, not just the costs.  Fundamentally, if the value proposition is between survival and incurring higher costs, then clearly it’s worth the higher cost to be sustainable.  Fortunately for now, the urgency of survival hasn’t been clear.  At the same time, it often takes a crisis for society to take significant corrective actions.

Recognizing that problems exist and that there are solutions in hand, what prevents me from implementing more positive change in my day-to-day actions?  Bad habits can be hard to change.  It’s human nature to get into patterns that are comfortable and familiar even if they’re self-destructive.  But we can break those patterns by connecting with others who share our convictions.  Working together, we can achieve a critical mass of like-minded voters who can influence the political process.  We can be influenced to make positive changes in behavior by peer pressure.

My family got me a Fitbit^® watch for my birthday.  They’ve all been using the devices for some time and have encouraged me to join the “community.”  I’ve resisted since I haven’t needed a community to help me make good choices about my exercise routines and I thought it’d be intrusive.  But now we’re all linked and I can see their daily activity levels and they can see mine.  I guess the idea is that the peer pressure helps encourage us all to do more and stay fit.  I can see some value in that.

Similarly, I can see value in being part of a Sustainability community.  That’s why the Green Team at work was formed and why Sustainable Pittsburgh developed their challenge as a fun way for businesses to work together toward common and mutually beneficial goals.  Through a points system, we’re rewarded for performing individual tasks that have been defined in the Playbook.  While the actual benefits aren’t quantified, the significance of each activity is ranked so that participants can gauge the relative value of each action.

This type of cooperative effort is exactly the type of process I’ve been looking for to feel motivated, energized, and integrated with others to make more meaningful changes in my individual, family, workplace, and community.  Maybe the next step is to develop a “Sustain-Bit” to help us all monitor and track the individual actions we take every day and how those actions really impact or benefit the environment.

Earth Day 2018

I’ve always thought of myself as an optimist. I generally “look on the bright side of life” and I seek silver linings after hardship and loss. Whether through the love of family and friends, the wisdom of ancient sages, or the solace of Nature, I find reasons to be hopeful.

Those close to me might argue that I’m more of a “neutralist.” They might point to my objective and analytical “Mr. Spock” nature around which I’ve built a science and engineering-based career. Or, they may point to my gravitation toward Eastern philosophy and my normally calm non-judgmental attitude. I tend to accept what is and adapt to situations as needed. I don’t worry much about what may be but rather attend to the things I want and need to do as best as I’m able.  Sure, I plan for the future, have hopes and dreams, and have a vision for a healthy world, but I don’t dwell on failures, shortcomings, and dead ends. The pragmatic MacGyver in me has dealt with unexpected situations enough times to have confidence that things will work out.

As this Earth Day neared, I considered how my perspective as a neutralist leaning towards optimism has shaped my reaction to environmental concerns of the day. I realized that I’m being apolitical.  Besides the typical reasons like parental and familial responsibilities, professional duties, and competing personal interests, life affords plenty of opportunities to be disengaged from the big problems like climate change, gun violence, gender rights, immigration, and a misguided Presidency. Life presents plenty of distractions and valid reasons not to be political.

What’s politics have to do with it?” you might ask.  That’s what I thought so I grabbed my copy of the wonderful Politics for Human Beings (Hummel and Isaak, Duxbury Press, 1980). There, I was reminded that “Politics is a social act to resolve the tension between human needs and social facts.”  Hummel and Isaac explain:

Social facts are old social acts that have become conditions. Social facts often frustrate human needs. For example, although people set up a corporation to satisfy their own needs and wants, as soon as their act becomes a condition, it frustrates the needs of others who share more in the pollution than in the profits created by the firm. Thus the social acts of one group of people to satisfy their own needs often frustrate the fulfillment of needs perceived by other groups. As soon as such tension between social facts and human needs is perceived, political consciousness comes into being.

So the question may be, how intense does the tension between one’s human needs and the social facts of the day have to become to inspire an individual to become politically engaged?  For a neutralist leaning toward optimism, there have been plenty of ways to rationalize inaction – the easiest being to be ignorant of what is happening. One might avoid the social facts by turning off the Twitter feed and the nightly news. Some may choose to binge on Netflix, focus on their physical health, or find peace of mind in Nature. Political leaders who advocate building walls and closing borders, isolating ourselves and being suspicious of strangers, and bullying those who present inconvenient facts encourage the hermits among us to find a quiet places to avoid being engulfed in the pervasive and stupefying societal miasma being spewed.

But by avoiding the situation, we allow it continue unchecked.  We accept and endorse through our silence.  We keep the virtue and honor of our higher ideals to ourselves and neglect to call out the shameful and indecent behavior of others.

That’s why lately I’ve become a pessimist.

It seems to me that it’s the pessimists who push the envelope and force others out of their accepting complacency by challenging the status quo.  By definition, it’s the pessimists who see the worst in things.  By extension, I think they are less content, less accepting, less forgiving, and less agreeable than their counterparts.  They complain more, they want change, they speak up, they get pissed, and they make trouble.  I don’t see pessimists as being constantly scowling and bitter, but I do see them as being more likely to get upset about injustices and inequities than a neutralist or optimist.  My long-gone dear friend Karen Lundegaard impressed upon me the lesson that “it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease” as she struggled with health coverage that was insufficient to offer adequate care in her short battle with cancer.  And, while fighting for her life against a bureaucratic health-care system didn’t tarnish her positive outlook on life, it left me with a lasting awareness that if people don’t complain, systems won’t change on their own. An excellent current example of what it takes to change a system can be found in Cecile Richards’ new book, Make Trouble (Touchstone, 2018).

Changing implies that something else will be “better” for those whose needs aren’t being met. Better is a judgment call – who’s to say what is better? Society needs to make that call through political action. I agree with Michael J. Sandel who in his 4/8/18 New York Time Book Review piece on Robert Reich’s The Common Good points out that, “Against the grain of much liberal thinking, Reich acknowledges that promoting civic virtue requires being judgmental about what moral attitudes and qualities of character our public life should affirm and promote.”

But for the rare exceptions, individuals, no matter how charismatic, virtuous, sincere, well-intentioned, and honorable, have an insignificant impact on the momentum of society unless they band together in with a common cause.  The winter 2017 #Resist movement in the U.S. that emerged in response to the Trump presidency can be viewed as non-violent action in accordance with fundamental principles of what is right and fair in America. The Me Too movement, March for Our Lives, and Black Lives Matter are other recent examples of people organizing to resolve tensions between needs and social facts. Building on Reich’s point the, I’ll suggest that current conditions justify being judgmental about what behaviors and actions we need to take for the well-being of us all: whether that involves social equity, women’s rights, gun safety, racial equality, or the environment.

Another such organization is Climate Reality: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/

Having attended Al Gore’s October 2017 training in Pittsburgh with 1,400 other enthusiastic leaders, I felt some optimism that society was recognizing that current conditions and trends were leading us to an undesirable future. The 11,000+ members of Climate Reality are working to help us recognize that:

1.     Yes – we must change what energy we consume and how we consume it;

2.     Yes – we can and are changing past conditions through energy conservation, renewable energy, and the phasing out of coal-burning technologies; and

3.     Yes - we will eventually change. Change is occurring but is the pace sufficient enough? I think not and it’s for that reason that I became a Climate Reality Leader.

The reality of climate change has been accepted worldwide. Actions from the individual who chooses the most fuel-efficient modes of transportation available to the nation-states who are working to implement renewable energy economies, span a wide range of morally-driven actions aimed at resolving the tension between perceived needs and current conditions. I’m pessimistic that the Trump presidency will do anything good about Climate Change.  My objective for the year ahead is to help fuel the awareness that politically engaged people can lead our political leaders in morally virtuous directions: one critical direction being toward the societal acceptance of the realities of climate change.

Happy Earth Day!

I Ching Explorations: 1st 8 Recap

This is a recap of the 1st group of eight hexagrams according to the King Wen sequence:  numbers 1 through 8.

1:  A Time to Initiate & 2:  A Time to be Receptive

3:  A Time of Difficult Beginnings & 4: A Time of Youthful Inexperience

5:  A Time for Confident Waiting & 6:  A Time for Dispute

7:  A Time to Exert Collective Force & 8:  A Time for Unity

#1 (Ch’ien / Heaven) corresponds to a time when ideas spring forth, grow, mature and blossom with fruit, and endure through rejuvenation and continuity.  At this time, one’s energies are aligned with the cosmos and great things are possible.

But Initiating is incomplete without a Receiver.

#2 (K’un / Earth) corresponds to a time when it is appropriate to accept, submit to, and be receptive to the situation.  When one in this position is willingly led or guided by another, great freedom can result and great things can be accomplished.

Receptivity is incomplete without an Initiator.

From the union of spirit and substance (heaven and earth) come living things and all new things can find Difficulty at the Beginning.

#3 (Tún or Zhān) / Difficulty at the Beginning) denotes the early stages of life following the union of the primal forces of Heaven and Earth.  This is beginning of something new and full of potential that advances resolutely despite the initial challenges and difficulties inherent in pushing one’s way into the world.

As the infant grows, the Follies of Youth are inevitably exhibited.

#4 (Mêng / Youthful Folly) advises that with awareness of one’s lack of knowledge, trust in a wise advisor, and disciplined effort, the empty spaces in one’s knowledge can be filled like many individual pools until they flow together with purpose.

Youthful entities require Nourishment and nurturing to grow and mature.

#5 (Hsü [Xü] / Confident Waiting [Nourishment]) refers to a strategic and intentional approach to biding one’s time while a significant event, crisis, or danger passes.  Having inner certainty of achieving the goal leads to perseverance and the ability to stand up to one’s fate.  Inner confidence and unrelenting truthfulness allow one to endure and meet fate resolutely.

Waiting for something critical can lead to conflict and disputes – thus what follows is Dispute.

#6 (Sung [Sòng] / Conflict [Dispute]) conveys the intent to argue, litigate, dispute, or accuse.  These actions all involve the use of words - not physical contact.  In terms of social interactions, the conflict considered here is one of opposing opinions, beliefs, or ideologies.  The hope is that through advanced planning (so as to avoid the confrontation in the first place) or through mediation and arbitration with the aid of a mutually-respected third party, coming to blows can be avoided.

Where there is a Dispute, a multitude capable of exerting Collective Force is sure to gather.

#7 (Shih / The Army [Collective Force]) corresponds to a need to organize and activating the latent energy of individuals into a unified force.  When individuals are healthy and strong from having been nurtured and protected by a benevolent entity, their power can be directed by a wise leader to protect the whole.  Working together to overcome a challenge can have a calming and peaceful effect on the masses and lead to solidarity and Unity.

#8 (Pi [Bì] / Holding Together [Unity]) corresponds to a a time when member of a community feel united.  This is a time when individuals find value in joining together to benefit society.  A wise leader welcomes those who willingly seek to join and seeks no quarrel with those who do not.  Harmonious unity of effort leads to prosperity and the desire to store up and Accumulate.

#1 Ch’ien / The Creative & #2 K’un / The Receptive

#1  – Ch’ien (Heaven) over Ch’ien (Heaven)

THE CREATIVE

#2  – K’un (Earth) over K’un (Earth) 

 

THE RECEPTIVE

Theme: A time to Initiate a time to Respond

Aspect	#1 Creative Power / Initiating	#2 Natural Response / Responding
Situation
Symbolically	Double Heaven – the creative process.	Double Earth – unconditional support of all things.
Socially	This is the most auspicious time for the realization of creative impulses.	This is a time for loving devotion to and nurturing of all things good and evil.
Individually	One is poised to create change.	One is receptive to the world.
Response
Symbolically	Heavens move – time passes – change unfolds.	Earth doubles – space embraces all things.
Socially	It is time to create, lead, direct, force, inspire, act!	It is time to nurture, follow, respond, nurture, receive, observe!
Individually	This is the time to implement and achieve one’s vision through wise actions in tune with the needs of society.	This is a time to align oneself with others, remain true to oneself, and be receptive to what is occurring.
Outcome
Symbolically	Yang energy instigates the creation of things in time.	Yin energy nourishes, nurtures, and provides a home for things in space.
Socially	Peace and security through order and leadership.	Bountiful and fecund profusion of life.
Individually	One’s aims are achieved through skillfully timed initiative and leadership.	One finds guidance and success through receptiveness and openness.
The Lines
Top Line	Ambitions exceed ability – to proceed is to lose touch with reality.	If one attempts to seize control rather than serve, a violent clash will injure both parties.
5th	One’s actions are in accord with the cosmos:  thinking is clear and one’s influence will be great.	Be modest and discrete about one’s abilities – let one’s actions speak for themselves.
4th	One must exercise free will and choose to be either a hermit or a hero.	Whether in solitude or amongst others, avoid any prominence and maintain reserves during this dangerous time.
3rd	Others attach themselves hoping to share in one’s success – don’t be distracted by their aims.	Leave fame to others and focus on maturing one’s abilities naturally.
2nd	Align with one who is active in the field of your interest and whose conduct is above reproach.	Like Nature responding to Heaven, be submissive, straightforward, and upright to succeed.
Bottom Line	The time is not right to act openly – best to bide one’s time.	Heed the initial signs of decay and plan for coming change.
Recap
#1.  Ch’ien (Qian) / The Creative (Initiating) Ch’ien is the masculine principle – pure yang – pure Heaven – energy in motion – time. Six unbroken lines represent the light, penetrating, conceiving primal power of yang. Ch’ien is the dynamic process of Heaven that is beyond the ken of mortal man.  It is the cosmic spark that instigates change, creation, and time.  It is masculine vitality in contrast to feminine docility. This is a time when ideas spring forth, grow, mature and blossom with fruit, and endure through rejuvenation and continuity.  While the creative force exists within us all at all times, at this moment, one’s energies are aligned with the cosmos and great things are possible. Ideas become real through action.  Of course, the idea has to occur, which in itself is an act, albeit internal and one that creates something that is real only to the thinker until it is expressed.  Then it takes on a life of its own – to whither and die or flourish and seed further ideas.  Time is the means of making the potential, actual.  And, at certain times like this, the ability to actualize one’s ideas is never stronger. What action will you take?  Given the choices of hero or hermit, will you engage with society or disengage?  You freely choose one path or the other – either choice is correct if you are true to yourself.  You might choose to focus on the creation of one’s inner self through the pursuit of knowledge.  Perhaps you seek to explore the immutable laws and develop yourself so as to have an enduring influence through the sharing of that knowledge. Whether hermit or hero, strive to use the power of this time to do good for all of humanity.  Cast the seeds of your vision in fertile soil, nurture the growing ideas, harvest the ripe fruits, and sow the multiplying energies with wisdom. #2.  K’un / Earth.  (Responding) K’un is the feminine principle – pure yin – pure Nature – Earth – Space. Six broken lines represent the dark, yielding, receptive primal power of yin. K’un is the nurturing home – the mother of all living things that provides unconditional nourishment, security, and loving devotion.  It is feminine devotion in contrast to masculine leadership.  K’un is about exploring social phenomena in response and submission to heavenly will. Nature (yin) brings all things into space and form giving beauty to the creations of Heaven (yang).  K’un has the potential to create, but it must accept yang energy to produce – Heaven sows the seed and Earth brings forth the fruit. Doubling of Earth denotes the solidity and extension in space of that which supports and preserves all things.  Earth does so without judgment for all things good and evil are equal on the physical plane of existence.  This is a time to accept, submit to, and respond to the reality of the situation.  The individual acts in support not as the leader.  One conforms and follows.  When one willingly accepts the position of being led or guided by another, great freedom can result and great things can be accomplished. Reaction is still action.  Rather than confrontation, this is a time for strategic restraint and measured subtle use of receptive non-action.  Allow others to expend the energy, to lead, to take the risks, and to seize the glory while you hold on to your traditional values, familial interdependencies, and intuitive knowledge of what is good and important. Keep an open mind, be receptive to those close to you, and let yourself be guided by the dynamic process.

#1 - Ch'ien - The Creative / Heaven

#2 - K'un - The Receptive / Earth