Before You Lead...

"A good leader inspires others with confidence in him; a great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves."

As I scroll through my facebook page, I see memes with inspirational quotes from inspirational people and that brings a smile to my face. As I scroll down further, I see more posts by the same people who posted the memes condemning those who choose not to think, live, or believe the same way they do. Many of these people seem to have taken on a self appointed roll of leader/guru/yogi. Although it is admirable that as they find enlightenment, they desire to share it with others, it is unsettling that they feel that the "truth" that they have discovered for themselves is the only truth for everyone.

While truth can indeed be a powerful weapon in many situations, it tends to do its own work and doesn't need to be brandished like a billy club. There are many truths in the universe and what may be true for one person, may not be true for another. For example, a California resident may find a vegetarian lifestyle to be true for him, whereas a resident of rural Alaska may not.

I have found that for me, the best spiritual leaders/teachers and leaders/teachers in general have been the ones who have taught and empowered me to seek, learn, and find my own truth, thereby enabling me to grow. I think the goal of leading should be to create more leaders and the goal of teaching should be to create self sufficiency. The ultimate goal should be growth in any case. But people grow and learn in different ways and at different paces.

Before I became vegan, a community of people I had frequent discussions with bombarded me with criticism for being a carnivore, telling me that my lifestyle was out of line with who I claimed to be. I of course took offense because they didn't really know me and they were forcing their definition of who I should be upon me. My choice to become vegan years later ultimately had nothing to do with their reasoning. As I grew and changed, so did my choices and lifestyle. I was ready to find my truth.

We must remember that the "truth" is all of us, but our experiences and backgrounds may color the way we express that truth. Bashing someone over the head with "the truth," and condemning those who choose not to follow it only leads to resentment and resistance. If what you are trying to create is a league of people who mimic your lifestyle, then you are no different from those whose lifestyle you despise. If what you are trying to create is a humanity of free thinkers who live in a way that benefits everyone, why not try enabling them to find their own truth within themselves. Lead by example, not force. Peace and blessings

Truth Is...

In the end, it all goes back to the beginning. I'm learning from my journey to the throne that life interferes with truth starting from birth. We are all born with all of the knowledge we need to be healthy, happy, accomplished beings. As soon as we are born, however, we are being taught to adopt as truth what those who came before us have adopted as truth. I used to think that at a certain point in our infancy we forget what we already knew. I'm now starting to wonder if dependency on our caregivers creates in us a need to acquiesce in order to survive. If this is true, what happens to us, then, once we are able to care for ourselves? Why do we not return to the knowledge with which we are born? At some point, I surmise, we abandon it, and if we ever choose to denounce what we have always been told and seek the truth within, it becomes an uphill battle.

Most animals know instinctively what must be done for survival. Birds are pushed out of a nest and automatically fly; four legged animals stand and walk from the moment they exit the womb; and mothers of these animals have no need for birthing or parenting classes. Humans pass this information and these lessons on to their offspring which ensures and makes survival of the species easier and more efficient. Other lessons, however, can become detrimental to the mental, emotional and spiritual survival of humans.

We are not just taught how to walk, talk, read, or write. We are taught how and what to think, behave, and believe. We are taught right and wrong. These are the lessons that are subject to interpretation. We are all one, all connected, the same on a basic molecular level. Our purposes and functions as part of a collective, however, differ on many levels. Think of humanity as a machine and each human as a different part of the machine. Each part has a particular function in order to work in harmony with the other parts making the machine functional and useful. Each part/person, then must have specific behaviors, shapes, processes, etc. So although we are one, we are different and for reasons.

These differences enable us to contribute to this machine called society in unique ways which can benefit the collective. Why then, and how, are we so determined to have everyone think, behave, look, believe the same way? We are told what happiness, beauty, love, success, and even God should look like, and we reject anyone or anything that suggests otherwise. We do this to the point of ignoring our own feelings, instincts, intuition and experiences.

When we have seen or experienced happiness without fancy cars, expensive clothes, or flashy jewelry, what is it that compels us to believe we are not or can not be happy without them? If we feel love for someone who is different than what we have been told is lovable or attractive, why do we run from that love? We have become a society reliant upon acceptance in order to be happy. I am not immune to this. I too have consciously and unconsciously done what I thought was expected of me, believed what I was told about myself (both good and bad) and allowed myself to be defined by the collective.

We intrinsically have an inner truth that may only be true for ourselves and our function within the machine. Whether we are aware of it or not, we go through a constant inner battle between the truth we are born with and the truth that is indoctrinated in us throughout our lives. The indoctrinated truth causes wanting because it is not our truth. This wanting causes us to suffer when we can not manage to live a truth that is not meant for us. If we are aware of this battle, we seek our own truth, and in the end, it all goes back to the beginning.