CONTEMPLATIVE. Definition: Expressing or involving prolonged thought.
Today, remembering Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., my thoughts go to this photo. We often see him at a rally, speaking with authority, hand raised in conviction, and with a voice of reason.
This photo reminds me he was a man of God, a pastor, a preacher, not just a civil rights leader. He must have contemplated, prayed, and sat in silence, listening for the voice of God as his words were powerful and convicting. His presence was charismatic, and his love for others was prevalent.
I was raised on his philosophy by my parents, who were influenced by those in our neighborhood. As a Caucasian family, we were the minority in our community. We lived on the north side of the tracks in Salina, KS.
I thought everyone lived within a culturally diverse neighborhood, but it wasn't until junior high school that I learned differently. I was both shocked and sad for those who didn't have friends of different ethnicities.
I am richer for it, and I still maintain my childhood friendships through our commonality of experiences, memories, and dreams. We were a united community because we didn't know any different.
As I think about these memories and the influencers, I am reminded of contemplative leadership. On the website Contemplative Leadership Development, the author states, " And nothing is more important to leadership excellence than our personal integrity. We don't 'create' wisdom. Instead, we uncover it. At the heart of the inner journey is the return to this creative stream."
Dr. King had integrity.
For me, integrity is a value I treasure and hold onto daily, both in my professional and personal life. Some days, it succeeds, and on others, I wonder if I practiced that value to the fullest.
On the same website, it asks, "Why contemplative leadership?" In answering the question, they state,
Most leaders are working at an extraordinary pace, often struggling to balance their lives. Finding time to slow down and turn your attention inward, the underpinning of any contemplative act, balances the nervous system, strengthens your relationship to the present, deepens self-awareness, and increases wisdom. It may not be possible to slow things down at work, but it is possible to remain simultaneously relaxed and alert even when under pressure (www.contemplativeld.com).
I love that it instructs us to "slow down and turn your attention inward." It invokes a physical, emotional, intellectual, and psychological response. It makes me want to stop to draw inner strength through prayer, silence, contemplation, and surrender.
Like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., my leadership development is built on a solid foundation in Jesus Christ. Every day, I learn from different teachers, influencers, authors, and preachers that I am who I am, not only because of my communal foundation but also from a spiritual one.
Luke 11:9-10: “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."
I prayer that you contemplate and find your balance.
What She Said,
Beverly
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