As usual, a part of my own plan is to embark upon some new personal development each year. All part of the brilliant opportunity to maintain lifelong learning. We are so lucky to be able to create this opportunity, when so many people in other parts of the world are in awe of what we have available.
It is a sad truth that so many choose not to embrace this opportunity – ignoring the insights that can be revealed, not releasing the discovery of new learning that can be made if we make time to tickle our interest buds. Perhaps we may stimulate even deeper discovery by revitalizing our own creative streak. A streak that has been suppressed by years of western style education. It is one of the joys of completing our ‘formal education’ at school, we can then decide what avenues to explore – and gosh, aren’t there so many! A lifetime of learning even if we really narrow down what we will choose to study.
As part of the programme I am now embarking upon, there are a few weekends away. The trees in the picture that I have attached to this article were visible from my bedroom window. Seeing them reminded me of a few lines I had once read by Kahlil Gibran:
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
The tree seems to have little foliage on one side as adjacent tree had been planted so close. My guess is that when both were in full foliage they almost embraced each other. Clearly one had lost many branches due to disease or, perhaps, the closeness of the other tree has made its neighbour wither. It certainly looks rather sad. So by planting two tree too close, one has smothered the other, and in so doing, also stilted its own growth.
This rang two bells in my mind and these where the questions that surfaced from the fading chimes:
- Whilst one may appear well formed when viewed from one side, how well developed could one really be if the effort was made to become more rounded? To allow the sunlight of learning to stimulate more growth.
- By standing too close to others, is this stopping our own development? And a further thought on the same lines – am I slowing down the development of another person by standing too close, being too protective to allow their own growth, and not allowing them to gain full sunlight on their own development?
Powerful questions to reflect on.
On the morning I spotting these trees it increased my resolve to pay more attention to my own development as I headed off to my first workshop!
So what new learning could you start?
My best wishes,
Peter
PS If you think your own tree of learning requires some new growth, or if some coaching would be useful to stop you standing in the shadows do get in touch.
