complexity is the next aspect of our VUCA world we can consider. we have always had a great number of factors to take into account. the global pandemic has increased that number manyfold. the interrelationship of those factors has become even harder to discern, and the variety of factors has also increased. all this leads to a complexity none of us had imagined. we now live in dynamic networks of confusing, and at times, conflicting relationships.
the information we receive from new sources, government, experts and friends contribute to this complexity in the covid-19 world.elders have the potential to tease out some of that complexity. with our years of experience, our ability to see the larger picture and our willingness to listen, we may be able to follow some of the threads to their source.
we can respond to complexity with clarity. not only might we be able to see a complex tapestry more clearly, we may be able to communicate about it with greater insight. clear expression of our fears, our desires, our hopes enables open communication with our network of friends, family, and those who care for us in so many ways.simple, authentic and transparent communication makes it possible to collaborate in the creation of our present and our future…whatever that might be.this is the moment for ‘soft skills’, those that enable and support contact and conversation. they will empower us to see distinctly and surely the complex world we are navigating. elders may have an edge here too, having honed those soft skills over decades of home and work lifestorytelling may be one of those soft skills. tales and myths carry deep messages about who we are. elders are the repository of stories…the telling of our heritage, our travels, our history can help us become clearer about today.
holding a positive outlook, even in the face of adversity, is another soft skill, along with integrity, a willingness to learn, creativity and open-mindedness. this may not be an easy outlook to hold and embrace, though our past experience of adversity may stand us in good stead now.these are qualities of many elders, who, after a lifetime of experience, have developed the clarity that moves through complexity with greater ease.
vuca. vuca? vuca! part 2
in the continuing inquiry into our VUCA world, we come to the 'u' of uncertainty.
we are increasingly unable to predict the future. well…we really never could do that. now, though, it has become impossible to pretend that we can.we are bombarded with many dire predictions about our health, the health of our Mother Earth, the economy and life itself. these are, of course, predictions. like the weather forecasts, any bit of the predictions may or may not happen, leaving us uncertain about everything, not simply the choice to take an umbrella as we go outdoors or not.
elders have experienced this aspect of VUCA many times, simply by living long enough. we know, deep down, that life is uncertain and unpredictable. we know, in our bones, that any part of our lives may change at any time, without advance warning. our current world situation brings this realisation to the foreground. it used to reside, unheeded and unseen, in the background.how can we meet this uncertainty? now, as elders, we know we have an understanding, a profound, basic understanding, of this uncertainty. this is our call to express our wisdom, the wisdom harvested from past experience.
uncertainty in the past has lead us to know what we did well, what came as a surprise then, and what path we took at the time. we learned, often times from painful experience, what brought joy and which choice brought heartache.we’ve learned to look at risks and make decisions about which we might be willing to take and which we would refuse. in the coronavirus world the risk is invisible and potentially deadly. and yet, we must assess the risks to our wellbeing on every level with each choice we make…physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. this process calls upon our wisdom.a skill we may have learned in our decades of life is the ability to listen. as we listen to that still, small voice inside, or to the sage advice of others (both younger and older), we have gained the wisdom that enables us to meet uncertainty with wise understanding.
it is this understanding that enables our growth in elderhood.
vuca. vuca? vuca!
though the acronym VUCA began in the 90s it has been appearing with great frequency of late. it was originally used by the US military to describe the post- cold war world. it then found it’s way into the business world following the 2008 global financial crisis. roughly speaking it translates as “it’s crazy out there!”
and it certainly describes the world we now live in. the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown us into it.so what does VUCA mean?volatility is about the speed of change
uncertainty is about our ability to predict the future, which is increasingly more difficultcomplexity is about the number of factors we need to deal with, how they relate to each other and how different they are from one another.ambiguity is about the lack of clarity or vagueness about something
elders have an exciting role to play in this world. over the next few posts we’ll explore each of these aspects of VUCA in greater detail, beginning with volatility.life has changed, and continues to change, with increasing speed. most of those changes are outside of our control. governments change their guidance daily. health care experts contradict one another. changes to our social lives shift weekly. because each bit of information is liable to evaporate, like a volatile oil, by the next news feed, it is hard to establish any stability.most elders have seen situations like this in the past. we’ve been effected, to varying degrees, by war, stock market crashes, illness and death. something that was secure in our lives has evaporated, just like that volatile oil.
in order to live with the volatility of life elders can, and probably already have, recognised it as a constant feature of life. we may have even come to embrace change as exciting and stimulating to our creativity. this recognition can lead us to developing our CQ, our ‘change quotient’, so that we don’t become overwhelmed with the rapidity and extent of the changes.
having a firm foundation in whatever we our value…kindness, generosity, integrity, honesty, service, community… can provide a balance to constant change. creating a vision of ourselves as honoured members of our society can keep us grounded in the reality of who we are and what we have to contribute. learning the skills of resilience can allow us to bounce back in the ever-changing VUCA world.elders can meet volatility with vision and values.
wonder. humility.
as we continue our exploration of the qualities of wisdom and wise people we might consider the embrace of wonder.
the wise ones standing in awe, in wonder, are often lead to great humility. a wise one, with the eyes of the eagle, sees the vastness of life, the unfathomable mystery of life, and can only stand in wonder.
the wise ones never proclaim themselves as wise. the ego of the wise one is smaller than their ability to simply model humility and wonder.that energetic tension between vastness of creation and the relatively modest space we occupy can fill us with delight. it can open the heartmind to the electricity of the life force…that force that is called ‘prana’ in sanskrit, ‘qi/chi’ in chinese, ‘ki’ in japanese. the appreciation of this pulse of life is a hallmark of an elder.
elders, in the course of our growth, can surrender to this greater energy. we then find ourselves in a state of humble awe. there seems to be a circular relationship between humility and wonder…the more we can open to the wonder around us, the more we see ourselves as part of the whole.
this creative tension allows an elder to also appreciate the dynamic between joy and grief, between anger and resolution, between sadness and gladness, between laughter and tears, between rage and compassion, between past experience and the present moment.
each aspect of the life force brings the elder to a deeper sense of wonder, awe and humility…the understanding that each aspect is vital to life itself. the embrace of the parts of ourselves which are painful along with the parts that bring peace allows us to embrace the whole.from this vantage point the wise elder can take compassionate action, whether that be mentoring a younger or participating in a demonstration or signing a petition or praying.from this vantage point we come around again to the cycle of wonder and humility, the cyclic nature of all life.
what is wisdom?
the words ‘wise’ and ‘elder’ are often spoken and written together. what is truly meant by ‘wise’? is someone wise simply because she’s lived 70 or 80 or more years?
is someone wise simply because he has more experience in a particular field? is someone wise simply because youngers need role models so anyone over 50 (or is it 30?) will do?
in my own search for the answers to these questions i have been led to explore the idea of qualities, rather than quantities. today i want to explore the path of acceptance of uncertainty and the unknown, in order to see that acceptance as a quality of a wise elder.
it seems clear that the knowledge we have acquired over decades does not lead to wisdom, nor does it lead to acceptance of the unknown or the ability to live with uncertainty.
in recent months our lives have been radically transformed by two glaring events…a global pandemic and a global response to inequality. no matter how much we might have known about health and wellbeing, or about racial inequities, we could not have foreseen their collision.
wisdom isn’t about the knowledge we possess. it is about how we see and it allows us to see differently. wisdom is expressed when we can see through the lens of meaning in our lives and when our actions, however small or large, promote the wellbeing of all, contributing to the common good.
wisdom is a manifestation of the heart.
the heart allows for paradox, for the unexpected, for the arrival of the unknwn in headlines from around the world. it encourages us to explore love, suffering and connection to one another and to something greater than ourselves…whatever we might call it.
wisdom, and wise people, holds opposites, the energies we might logically see as incompatible. there is often no 'sensible' path in the world we inhabit. however, there is a path of the heart, a path where we see with the eyes of an eagle.
we can then take in the broad view, the larger picture. this picture might include difference and challenge.
wise people don’t need to be right, having the answer to every issue. wise ones accept uncertainty. wise ones are willing to explore, with open hearts, the painful places in themselves and thereby, might accompany others in that exploration. wise ones accept the uncertainty and challenge of life with a willingness to face their fears and to look into the aspects of themselves that might be hidden.
then the light of awareness can be the guide to the wise one.
the still point
our world has erupted.
after months of sheltering, the death of a black man in the united states has created a volcano of expression.
certainly there is violence. certainly there is anger and pain.just as certainly there are creative thinkers who see this moment as a pivot point, a moment of potential for great change….a shift in policing, a change toward a green economy, a moment where centuries of inequity might be shifted.
as elders we play an important role in this shift. while we may not be on the streets (though some of us certainly are!), we too are part of the change. we can hold the still point.
“At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is, But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity, Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards, Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point, There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.”
t.s. elliott tells us that there is a place from which everything moves and evolves, everything is potential. from the still point all is possible, not fixed. the still point is the present moment into which the dance unfolds. the still point is the place from which consciousness changes, from where we perceive, understand, act differently than we did before. the still point is transformative. at the still point we find our activism…be that on the streets or as spiritual activists.from here elders can find their power along with the youngers who have taken to the streets, at risk of their lives, not only from police brutality but also from the brutality of a sometimes deadly disease. they are acting for us all and they stand on the wisdom of their elders. we can hold the space for their dance. this is a legacy all of us can provide, whether we have children/grandchildren or not.this is the space we hold where “past and future are gathered”.may we use it well.