Leadership and Presence and Helen's Hand
David LaChapelle, 2001

In our coming together we are bearing witness to a remarkable gift of the cosmos: the capacity of human beings to transcend their condition by generating a presence amongst them which inspires, activates and nourishes. The emergence of this presence is the release of the guiding capacity which is biologically and spiritually encoded in each individual. Our bodies are an evolutionary experiment that is still in flux.As we listen to the deepest longings within our souls we feel the call towards something more whole, integrated and full. Our inner lives are in motion, dynamic in their intentionality to become more complete. The afflictions which stand before us, the sorrow, the greed, the inhumanity, the lack of hope and a host of others all are born from an insensitivity. And this insensitivity is not innate. No human being is born to be shut down. The biological imperative of their body and the emergent creative potential of their inner capacities are all seeking to find expression, an expression which is manifest and reflected in the moon upon the water and the curl of a leaf in the morning sun. Whenever a group of human beings gather there is, in the moment of the gathering, the possibility of engendering a quality of presence which open outward into the dreams, hopes and aspirations which live in the heart of us all. It is the collective debris of the conditioned self which narrows the focus of the mind and afflicts the heart. Leadership is the emergence of that which leads and inspires. This can spring forth in a moments touch, in a relaxation of a fixed point of view and a softening towards the common well of humanity from which we all drink. A story told to me by a friend comes to mind when I think of the possibility of leadership. My friendâs mother knew Helen Keller, corresponded with her and was a part of the circle of Helenâs life. My friend was taken to meet to Helen when he was nine. He had just come from a gym where he had been exercising and was sweaty, gangly and awkward. When he met Helen, who was quite old at the time, she reached out to touch his face, drinking in the essence of his being through the delicate fingers which had traced out a world in her lifetime. Having drunk in the essence of my friend, she leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. My friend credits that moment with the awakening of his spiritual longing and a commitment to make a better world. He now is active in transforming the traditional medical model into one of service, hope and life embracing values after over twenty years as a surgeon. Helenâs touch, and kiss, have stayed with him through the years and given him the recognition which has allowed him to trust the current of deeper inspiration which calls him forth through journey of his life. We lead when we touch one another in such a way that our intimacy with life deepens and our courage to live through the obstacles we encounter into the wellspring of creative capacity which lies within the heart of every human being. We lead, in such moments, because we have been led. Led by the opening outwards into the fullness of life, by risking becoming sensitive to one another, to really experiencing and embracing the individual with whom we have become attuned. This moment of recognition does not become blind Êto the pain, struggles and difficulties, but it also does not lay down in front of them. To lead is to move through the contractions that limit the elegant unfolding of the human flower and touch the sensitive, emerging desire of every human being to be part of life itself: to contribute, to nourish, to support, to embrace, to inspire, to act and to hold dear this precious existence we share. This is not a leading by imposition of one will upon another. This is a mutual exploration of the inherent beauty of life, the tender moments of pain and difficulties which beset us and the sensed emergent capacities of the soul present in each one of us. It is the calling forth of these capacities that is the essence of leadership. For we are being led by life into the embrace of its intrinsic intelligence. And if you should doubt if such an intelligence is really woven through life, then you have not really witnessed a sunrise or held a new born in your arms. The emergence of this intelligence is a self organizing function of being present to our own experience and the experience of those around us. We do not have to push, project our opinion, or coerce ourselves or others in such an act of leadership. We simply lead with the sensitive touch of Helenâs hand as we reach out to recognize our innate potential to join in the current of life becoming itself through us. Top Return to From the Four Directions Library

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