You need to be still…

by Judith F Kennedy, PhD

What does it take to be an authentic, emotionally committed leader? You need to know who you are so that you can know what you believe and where you stand. This is not easy especially given that in any small space in our busy life, we take out our cell phone to check messages. What happened to the stillness of reflection?

Where did we lose the quiet moment? That quiet moment in which we might hear something or see something that we need to see. Perhaps it’s the sound of birds or the wind in the trees. Perhaps its our child needing to sit in our lap. What happened to us that we now think that we have to be checking every moment to see if someone wants us or someone needs us. Or is it the gratification that we are important because we have so many emails in our box?

You need to be still. Why? This is your one and only precious life. As a leader, you are given the opportunity to influence others. What comes with that is the moral obligation to touch others with your own humanity.  Aristotle, in his Nichomachaen Ethics, said that, “Morality cannot be learnt simply by reading a treatise on virtue. The spirit of morality is awakened in the individual only through the witness and conduct of a moral person”.Be still and know. Find out what matters to you by being still and listening to yourself. This is a moral thing to do.

For you this may be the quiet of early morning sipping a fresh cup of coffee. For others it may be a walk along a quiet path or on a beach. It may be reflecting for a few moments after reading a good book. Still others may be
more determined and focused. They may decide to meditate and let the silence calm and speak to them. To meditate is a wonderful thing. It allows you to be still and know who you are.

Watch Jack Kornfield, an esteemed western Buddhist teacher talk about meditation.