Kindness, compassion, forgiveness… all of these qualities are in great demand these days as we work out how to forge new ways of being in what can feel to many like a very hostile and frightening world. Add redundancy, economic decline, constant change, and uncertainty and the cocktail is pretty challenging, to say the least.
If we are to find the kindness and compassion so badly needed to enable us to help others, share what we have, pull each other up when the going gets tough, we also need to be able to find the same kindness and compassion for ourselves.
To smile at ourselves when we don’t quite get it right. To love ourselves, even when we feel unlovable for whatever reason.
The heart is an amazing thing – physically for sure but even more so as a container for pain, suffering, love, and joy. Its ability to infinitely expand is incredible and, if we let it, and get out of its way, the heart can and will accompany us as a faithful and powerful friend on our journey.
If we can find our way to openness, vulnerability, and acceptance, the heart and all the love within it, will strengthen us in ways we cannot begin to imagine. We will demonstrate a form of leadership that is expansive, generous, inclusive, understanding, and compassionate.
So often love is a word we avoid and keep for very special occasions. In truth, love is an everyday quality. Every aspect of our world is in need of more love – the planet, our work lives, our family lives, and our relationships across all Humanity.
When leadership has love as its cornerstone, we access the full power of the heart, the power to transform, to uplift, and to be endlessly creative. Pain and suffering are seen as the fuel for change and we focus on building an inclusive, kind, and considerate world.
