Oh the Suspense of being Suspended

I feel lately as if I've been missing something.

Do you ever get that nagging feeling that something is going on around you and you're not in on the joke? Or how about the feeling you get when you walk into a room and people immediately stop talking?

I'm existing in two very different worldviews right now and it's kind of freaky. I've got people around me embroiled in tiny little details about things that matter so very little in the big picture (my friend Cary calls this manurtia (a combination of minutia and manure - get it?)) while at the same time people in the universe are examining really important thoughts like identifying networks of hope and recognizing the yearning for meaning. I'm not quite comfortable in either world right now so I almost feel that I'm suspended somewhere in the middle.

My friend Gail gave me some really thought-provoking cards from the International Futures Forum. Talk about an enlightened organization! In fact, the cards are called e-squared (or second enlightenment) and they consist of short little phrases like:

"What drives the system is belief"
"Connecting rather than isolating"
"Deliberately cultivate enabling conditions"
"Don't get stuck critiquing the darkness. Light a candle."
"Don't look for the edge, find the center"

Wow. Each of those phrases (and there are many more) cause me to see things on both sides of this suspended animation in which I find myself in a whole new light - with appreciation instead of disgust or awe.

Think about how different our worldviews could become if we could elevate our small talk from the weather to statements like those. That's my hope for 2005, and I'll do my part. Care to engage in that kind of dialogue? I'd love to hear from you!