Cuncumen, Chile
Patricia May Urzúa and Sergio Saguez (below with Dr. Clyde Croswell of The George Washington University) are extraordinary human beings. We have much to learn from them about leadership, language and life. They represent the very best of the Chilean approach to practical wisdom - or what Aristotle called phronesis - and the purposeful, creative soulfulness of the examined life.
Pat says that language can elude the essential, complex conversa- tions we have - or should be having - about self-knowledge, mindfulness, and our universal connectedness. Maybe this is why we increasingly use the language of complexity theory and quantum dynamics to explore such realms.
A professor of Anthropology at the University of Chile and a leading Chilean author, Pat readily integrates the scientific with the philosophical and spiritual and believes that we think of these two forces as mutually exclusive at our own peril. "Poets speak to these truths in very different ways," Pat told us today. Perhaps it is not language, per se, but prose that eludes powerful, seemingly unspeakable concepts where science and spirituality comfortably intersect. Heidegger spoke to the power of poetry in this context, seeing it as a force for understanding meaning, being and the true nature of man. So too, Wittgenstein spoke of "language games" used to construct and convey seemingly impenetrable philosophical concepts and to reveal truths long hidden by society's need for institutions and boundaries that restrict the difficult yet essential conversations about who we are and where we are going.
In his book "The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America," the poet David Whyte echoes Pat May and builds on the work of Heidegger, Wittgenstein and others. Whyte brilliantly explores the growing restlessness of American executives who yearn for greater creativity in their jobs and meaning in their lives, trapped as too many of them are in turgid, political and inauthentic settings that painfully limit their potential contributions.
Whtye says that, "This split between our work life and that part of our soul life forced underground seems to be at the root of much of our current unhappiness." Whyte offers hope that some enlightened corporations are now starting to understand the real potential of liberating the total person at work. "The world of commerce has until now run a mile from this hidden world; organizations have more often seen these underground and seemingly eccentric desires as a source of continual interruption into their production and purpose. This is now changing. Continually calling on its managers for more creativity and adaptability, the American corporate world is tiptoeing in the very place whence that dedication, creativity and adaptability must come: the turbulent place where the soul of an individual is formed and finds expression."
Yes, the United States can retain its superpower status and our businesses their record of innovation. However, this will require engaging in difficult conversations about what really matters, understanding that each of us is merely a momentary occurrence in an infinite scheme of things, speaking from true humility and humanity, and freeing our colleagues and ourselves to achieve the awesome creative powers that can be found in each of us. We won't read much about the likes of Pat May, Sergio Saguez and David Whyte in the Harvard Business Review today, but it is just a matter of time. As Pat said, "We need to evolve beyond our illusions."
Patricia May Urzúa and Sergio Saguez (below with Dr. Clyde Croswell of The George Washington University) are extraordinary human beings. We have much to learn from them about leadership, language and life. They represent the very best of the Chilean approach to practical wisdom - or what Aristotle called phronesis - and the purposeful, creative soulfulness of the examined life.
Pat says that language can elude the essential, complex conversa- tions we have - or should be having - about self-knowledge, mindfulness, and our universal connectedness. Maybe this is why we increasingly use the language of complexity theory and quantum dynamics to explore such realms.
A professor of Anthropology at the University of Chile and a leading Chilean author, Pat readily integrates the scientific with the philosophical and spiritual and believes that we think of these two forces as mutually exclusive at our own peril. "Poets speak to these truths in very different ways," Pat told us today. Perhaps it is not language, per se, but prose that eludes powerful, seemingly unspeakable concepts where science and spirituality comfortably intersect. Heidegger spoke to the power of poetry in this context, seeing it as a force for understanding meaning, being and the true nature of man. So too, Wittgenstein spoke of "language games" used to construct and convey seemingly impenetrable philosophical concepts and to reveal truths long hidden by society's need for institutions and boundaries that restrict the difficult yet essential conversations about who we are and where we are going.
In his book "The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America," the poet David Whyte echoes Pat May and builds on the work of Heidegger, Wittgenstein and others. Whyte brilliantly explores the growing restlessness of American executives who yearn for greater creativity in their jobs and meaning in their lives, trapped as too many of them are in turgid, political and inauthentic settings that painfully limit their potential contributions.
Whtye says that, "This split between our work life and that part of our soul life forced underground seems to be at the root of much of our current unhappiness." Whyte offers hope that some enlightened corporations are now starting to understand the real potential of liberating the total person at work. "The world of commerce has until now run a mile from this hidden world; organizations have more often seen these underground and seemingly eccentric desires as a source of continual interruption into their production and purpose. This is now changing. Continually calling on its managers for more creativity and adaptability, the American corporate world is tiptoeing in the very place whence that dedication, creativity and adaptability must come: the turbulent place where the soul of an individual is formed and finds expression."
Yes, the United States can retain its superpower status and our businesses their record of innovation. However, this will require engaging in difficult conversations about what really matters, understanding that each of us is merely a momentary occurrence in an infinite scheme of things, speaking from true humility and humanity, and freeing our colleagues and ourselves to achieve the awesome creative powers that can be found in each of us. We won't read much about the likes of Pat May, Sergio Saguez and David Whyte in the Harvard Business Review today, but it is just a matter of time. As Pat said, "We need to evolve beyond our illusions."