By Linky van der Merwe
Recently I finished reading a fascinating book called: “The art of possibility: Transforming professional and personal life” The book is full of positive stories to attempt to change your perspective in life.
It’s about drawing a different frame around a set of circumstances that seem to block us in our daily lives, and seeing new pathways come into view. It’s about finding the right framework so that extraordinary accomplishment becomes an everyday experience. Ultimately, it describes a new practice for bringing possibility to life in an intellectual, but entertaining way.
My favourite parts of the book were the interesting stories about music and orchestras from the conductor who is also the writer, which beautifully illustrate his points. For the purpose of this article I want to share a poem and a story, but I would recommend reading the book as well.
A poem
The words of Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
Our deepest feat is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous –
actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people
won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some of us: it is in everyone
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
Frameworks for creating possibility are illustrated throughout the book by means of stories. I particularly liked this story about Truth and Reconciliation because it took place in my country, South Africa.
Under the leadership of the Nelson Mandela government, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was formed as a framework for the possibility of the integration of all aspects of society, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu as its chairman. The TRC offered amnesty to individuals who were prepared to tell the whole truth publicly and could prove that their violent deeds had been politically motivated.
The vision of the TRC: “a need for understanding, but not for vengeance, a need for reparation but not for retaliation, a need for Ubuntu (brotherhood) but not for victimization.” The Truth Commission served as a framework for possibility because the more truth was revealed, the more connection and deeper understanding emerged. It became a framework for the possibility of social transformation.
Mandela believed that the TRC helped to move away from the past to concentrate on the present and the future. It left the society free to take the next step.
New Paradigm
After reading the book, I found myself looking at work problems differently, especially with project challenges and teams having difficulty to always cooperate smoothly. The frameworks in the book provide various lenses through which to look for alternative solutions to problems. Of course this can be applied to personal problems as well. I would encourage you to read it and find out for yourself.
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