Category: why

Change starts here, with you.

You cannot go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.

C. S Lewis (1898 – 1963) Belfast writer and lay theologian.

Change as a process

Change comes to us in many ways. There are the changes imposed by the of life or systems we inhabit that pass through a certain life cycle or pattern of evolution, aging, maturation, obsolescence, adaptation are the common expressions we use to describe it. Other changes we try to construct ourselves seeking to become the person or community we feel we ought to be.  Many of us spend time imagining what that desired state should be or devising a step by step strategy to achieve it. The titles of many self- help books are illustrative of this approach to change. Corporate strategy texts can follow a similar formula.

In reality, facing into the changes of our time is less often a deliberate process and more an emergent one. The roots of the challenges we face are complex and not always fully understood. Problems may not fit into any category previously encountered and solutions comprise multiple emergent options. We may not be able to learn from the past and there is no endpoint where we can say the issue is resolved. Instead our task is to continuously engage with what actually is in a way that allows us to see emergent possibilities and make them happen if possible.

In this scenario the process of facing into change is as important any envisaged outcome. Emergent change may be unpredictable, but that does  not mean it is  random or haphazard. As we will see throughout this blog it very muct depends on the type of interactions that give rise to it. We will see ourselves in the outcomes, even if we cannot explain the causality.   There are a number of theories on how emergent change  occurs but three themes recur. They are that creative change requires firstly a heightened consciousness of what is now happening in any system before it can be reimagined. Secondly the clarity with which we can see and sense what is happening is dependent on the quality of dialogue between members of the system, or put simply, how we converse. Thirdly, that type of creative dialogue can only occur when each of us realises that we are the system, that when we talk about changing the system, we are talking about changing ourselves.

Recognizing yourself in that process

The phrase ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ comes to mind. The words are often misattributed to Mahatma Ghandi. In fact, what he did say on the subject is more profound.

We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies of the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.

Mahatma Ghandi.

It is a very eloquent description of how we shape and are shaped by the world we inhabit. That the world emerging around us mirrors what is emerging from within us. It also points to the starting point of change. To change our own nature, we (woman or man) must go into that inner world, to turn around that mirror, and become aware of the condition of our own heart and mind. By really listening to ourselves so that we can listen to others, by starting to notice what until now we have failed to notice, by questioning what we think and more importantly how we think. Do we have thoughts or do our thoughts have us? Do we let others do our thinking for us?

Until we enter that space, I think we can see that real change-making dialogue is not possible. We are more likely to engage in a polite conversation where we go with the flow and accept whatever the dominant view of our present situation is. Or we resort to endless circular debate where we wear our views like a favourite coat reluctant to part with it because to do so would mean shedding part of our identity. Often, it is frustration with being stuck in these ways that initiate the process of facing into change. The fact is that being fully immersed in the experience of our present lives is more likely to lead to innovative change than some form of coercion imposed by ourselves or by others. Our first objective then is to strengthen our capacity to see, feel, and act on that experience, to strengthen ourselves. Facing into change starts here, with us.

Facing into change… why, why not, and how.

When we face into change

There are times in our lives when, individually or as a community, we feel the need to be more intentional about change, to search for a better future, to discover what is possible, and act on those discoveries rather than waiting passively for something to happen, or accepting our lot. This inclination to face into change can surface in a number of ways. It can come from a sense that we have reached some transition or pivot point, where what went before can no longer apply. We may see no definite pattern to the future, entering or leaving the world of work being a common example. It can arise from a feeling of unease or even of personal crisis where we seriously question what we are now doing or our present way of thinking and look for an alternative direction. Hopefully, we are now seeing the beginning of the end of the Covid crisis as vaccines are rolled out. But when it does subside, we will have new social challenges to confront along with those we already are struggling to contend with. Courageous thinking will be needed, to reframe these problems and take the radical actions needed. A shared understanding of what is involved in facing into such change will be crucial.

What is involved

The phrase facing into change has three main connotations. The first, as outlined above is its intentionality, facing into change is self-initiated, not imposed change. It is not about what we ought to be but about striving towards a future that we want even if that is not fully clear to us. This is its second feature, its uncertainty and emergent nature. Facing into change is about embarking on a course of thought and action with an unpredictable outcome but one we feel is worth pursuing. It is worth pursuing because even if we cannot foretell our future, we believe that we can and should change what is possible in that future. It is an optimistic stance entered into with the expectation that there is an alternative state out there, or within us, that is better than what we live with at present. Because it does not begin with some defined endpoint in mind, because we start our journey somewhat blind, we expect that change will be an emergent process where new possibilities will surface to which we can respond. How we respond relates to the third aspect of facing into change, the chance that there will be a struggle involved or resistance to be encountered arising from that tension between our desire for something different and our innate inertia to stay the same. It is important to understand those sources of resistance, how they can impede us but also can serve us in reaching a point where the changes we actually need to make become more apparent. Resolving such tensions helps us make choices, as we face into change, about we want to hold on to, what we feel must let go of, and what new things we need to let come into our lives or communities

Transformers – thinking and conversation.

It may seem that the type of change we are talking about is a haphazard affair, but as we shall find out it in this blog is not random but very much influenced by how we engage with it, how we think about change, and how we interact with others, the kind of conversations we have about change. Facing into change starts with a new awareness of our present situation and a realisation that a different way of thinking may be required. We begin to see that the resistance within us may be in the present image or status we want to maintain, in our rigid ways of thinking, the power that we want to hold on to,  or our reluctance to open up to others. Through conversations, we begin to see the transformative effect of facing into change, on our way of thinking about ourselves. We may use stories or metaphors to explain our existing way of doing things, and how it might change in the future. Going with the flow or sticking to what we know is unlikely to work. Somehow, we need to get in touch with new ways of thinking and feeling about our situation, to arrive at the point where we are emotionally committed to trying new things. We realise that it will be an ongoing learning process, where we find out more about ourselves and what is possible rather than reaching an endpoint. Facing into change is a continuous process where we are ready forever begin to quote Brendan Keneally.