With book in hand I found myself in a dilemma. Should I stick to my original overview of this great book that might help them integrate their working existence with their human side, or should I surrender to the moment at hand following the lead of a handful of women who expressed a different agenda?
It was clear that abandoning the original plan was the wisest direction and it yielded some extraordinary results. While it was a no-brainer to go with the flow, I noticed a slight resistance within my self as I had thoroughly prepared for the evening. But prempted by the group dynamic – I jumped into the cold “watering hole” for a refreshing lesson in being in the moment.
We had some dynamic conversation, strayed into our personal and spiritual lives, took a dip into the waters of each individuals worklife scenario and kept coming back to the same interest for all involved in the discussion – how to find joy, cultivate that joy and sustain joy in life and at work.
One woman shared that she went to church every morning, for another it was Zen meditation that she used to start her day. Still few could say that they were able to carry that serenity into the workplace. The ensuing conversation was not simple for these women, but they all came to the same conclusion – the serenity was not going to come from outside themselves, but from within. So it was up to them to make it last, but they had to go a little deeper to examine the resistance.
It reminded me of a lesson that I seem to manifest just about every day with regard to resistance to change. Doing the work to cultivate a more peaceful existence is only one part of the journey. The second part is in making the decision to want to take the journey toward joy and serenity. Once again, I was called to task in remembering that once the resistance is conquered, the surrender to the journey becomes less of a task. Serenity emerges out of the organic creative energy of the desire to change.
