Dear Organlearners,
Richard Karash <Richard@Karash.com> writes:
>But, there's also a question about people on the street: As a
>successful species, why do we human beings appear so
>inconsistent in what we believe and how we form beliefs? Why
>such lack of rigor? Lack of reflection. I think what we are writing
>about is basic stuff, but somehow it's still an eye-opener for many
>intelligent, successful adults today. I envision a future in which we
>wouldn't talk about this on LO, and would never consider including
>this in a management curriculum... Because everyone already
>knows it and acts this way.
Dear Rick,
What a profound paragraph with so many crystals in it!
As for humankind being a successful species, only the future will answer
that question. If humankind keeps on digesting its environment so that it
can gow and grow and grow and ...., then the future will bring only
disaster. But if humankind realise that it is now entering its ripened
(mature) age of creativity, it will know that all ripe things have to give
themselves up so as to promote new life! This is where "creative
collapses" come into the picture -- the biggest crystal realising that
there is no sense in just becomming bigger and bigger and bigger and
....... Diamonds are the crystals of nature which we consider most
valuable. But no diamand has any other future than staying a diamond. It
cannot, for example, germinate like a ripe seed and give rise to many new
plants.
As for beliefs, do we not far too easily assume that "unquestioned
assumptions" are beliefs? As for me, they are not. When I question an
assumption which nobody else has suggested to me, but which has emerged
within me as necessary to guide my actions, and I find that no matter how
much I and all other people in fairness question this assumption, it
remains true and good, only then I will acknowledge it as a belief
(=article of faith). Obviously, the tricky word here is "fairness".
The future which you envision here reminds me very much of st Luke. There
is remarkable story (Dearest Physician) by Taylor Caldwell on the life of
st Luke. The lack of medical knowledge and reports on Jesus' medical
miracles made Luke very curious about the enigmatic person called Jesus of
Nazareth. So his journey of discovery began until it culminated in the
discovery of eternal life. Read her book -- it is beautiful.
The point which I want to make, is that should Jesus have lived today, His
medical miracles probably would have had less impact because of the
advances of humankind's knowledge in medicine and its technology. Thus a
modern physician would have had much less entropic force to drive him on a
voyage of discovery like Luke.
Perhaps it is time to tell the following. My eldest daughter Corine became
very ill when she was seven years old. Despite all the wonders of modern
medicine, she could not be cured. Her condition kept on dragging. For us
as parents it was agonising. One night I walked in prayer to the building
of our congregation. As I got there, still praying, hitting with my fists
against the stone wall so as to crush the knuckels, I questioned God
desperately: "Why do doctors and medicine fail? Why do even the prayers of
my wife, me and our fellow Christians for Corine fail? Why do You not
respond?" Then I heard a voice saying: "So that you can learn how to
believe against all hope." I went home, suddenly knowing that God will
respond when the time is ripe. But I still did not know that before that
response He had to guide my wife and me through some deep lessons before
we eventually would understand the way in which He will respond -- four
years later!
Rick, I envision the same future as you. I have no hope for such a future
when I think of humankind as it now acts. It is far easier for me to to
write a fiction story how humankind will deal with over population, people
physically and spiritually crippled with actions which will let the
destructive immergences of the 20th century all over the globe look like a
kindergarten, than to write on the constructive digestions and emergences
as a result of entropy production. Yet I believe that this future of
"ubuntu" (harmony between God, fellow humans and nature) will eventually
become actual and that it is our task to prepare ourselves through
learning for it. I know that such a future is not possible only through
learning individuals.
It requires more than what the "dassein" creativity of learning
individuals can offer. Some people here in South Africa are beginning to
experience the power of "mitsein" creativity of learning organisations.
They may be a small minorty and not be able to tell anything about, LOs,
creativity, "dassein-mitsein", but they are really experiencing these
????s -- AND THAT IS WHAT COUNTS!
Best wishes
--At de Lange <amdelange@gold.up.ac.za> Snailmail: A M de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre Faculty of Science - University of Pretoria Pretoria 0001 - Rep of South Africa
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>