Spirituality at the Movies

Tags

growth, leveling up, spiritual goals, writing

Welcome to the first post in our ‘mid-week’ series of guest posts by #spiritchat members, tentatively categorized, “spiriflections”. I hope that you enjoy the author’s efforts, and maybe even contribute a comment (to encourage them) and/or contribute to this series in the future. Thank you. – Kumud

Spirituality at the Movies – by David Tumbarello

I sat in the dark theater and watched a beautiful movie about growth and strength. About battling demons, learning about sacrifice, and learning about love. The main character began the story literally and figuratively without a body. She was also soul-less. By the end of the first act, she was given a body. After battling a demon, this replacement body was destroyed and she was given a second, upgraded body. This one was more mature and she integrated with this one far better than the first. In a moment, she “leveled up”. Due to her desire to fight for justice, she acquired accessories that integrated with her body. She brought these accessories to battle and “leveled up” once more.

I sat down the other day to watch another movie, this one twelve years in the making. During those 12 years, the protagonist grows from a boy to a man. As a six year old, he rides a bike, and then as a 16 year old drives a car, and when he graduates from high school, he drives off to the university. His parents divorce, they remarry, and divorce again. He struggles with his classes and learns he is an artist. This doesn’t happen overnight. It takes 12 years for him to be okay with his art. It also takes 12 years for him to grow from boyhood into something close to being an adult.

I think about maturation versus leveling up. For me, spirituality does not fit with the model of a person leveling up. A spiritual deposit today will not increase the size of my spiritual bank account tomorrow. My deposit today, however, may contribute to my growth.

It has been said, “When you open your heart and mind up to allowing yourself to experience the doubts, tension, and discomforts associated with facing fears and making changes, you allow the possibility for real growth to occur.” Should we shy away from pain, discomfort, loss, and fear? If our mindset is growth, we should find ways to embrace these difficulties because in their purest form, they are not barrier but rather gates to growth.

I recall sitting in therapy one afternoon and the therapist and I talked about trying out new behaviors. She turned to me and said, “It’s a stretch.” She wasn’t asking that I change overnight or level up. She was asking that I consider doing something just a bit outside my comfort zone. Something that would stretch my self-care muscles. Something that would help me grow.

As I write today, I embrace my flaws, blemishes, bruises, and aches. Even with these spiritual difficulties, I aspire. Without them, how would I stretch? How would I grow? I write today to address spiritual weakness. For me, writing today is a stretch. I address weakness and with this stretch, I grow. Will I have aches? Yes. Will I stretch and grow? Absolutely.

And when you mature, when you truly grow, others around you will notice and in the right circumstances they are changed as well. You change, they change. Would you want it any other way?

– David Tumbarello (@davetumbarello)

David Tumbarello is a technical communicator with over 50 years in the growth industry, with 49 of those years communicative and on two feet. When he is not technically communicating, he enjoys hiking, biking, and writing. Feel free to connect with David on LinkedIn.

Spiritual Reflections (photo by @AjmaniK)

How Does Change Make Communities Thrive (by @ThinDifference)

Tags

action, change, community, growth

How Does Change Make Communities Thrive?

(Guest post by Jon Mertz @ThinDifference)

Change is always changing. A circular statement? Although it is, change is never static. The impact of change on individuals, families, colleagues, and citizens is unsettling and welcome. We begin to see the dichotomy of change. Some change we like, and other changes we do not.

Change can wear on us or enliven us. More than either of these options, we may end up talking more about change than changing. Talking is easy. Change takes action.

A famous Mahatma Gandhi quote is “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” The words are inspiring. “Be the change” has evolved into an almost static moment. Just be, and all will be fine!

“Be the change” is much more. I believe it means that we need to act on the change we wish to see. We need to be the example we want to see.

The standard of “be the change” rises. More than just one person –

• What if one person gathered 20 others to facilitate change?
• What if one person helped 20 people?
• What if each of the 20 individuals engaged in change or being helped by another then did the same?

The power of change multiplies when we join with others and then they do the same. Picture this. Twenty people standing in a circle holding hands. On top of each grasped hand, another hand connected with another 20 individuals connected in a circle. And then again and again. What you visualize is the concentric power of 20 people facilitating change.

Margaret Mead, a cultural anthropologist, said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Twenty people is a small group. Twenty people, energized by one, can energize a community.

We can be the change, or we can rise to another level. We can act on the change we want to see.

Being present is a starting point. From here, we need to act with the passion of change and the compassion of understanding the change required to make a positive impact. A positive impact is a community growing, serving, and making lives better.

Enabling a thriving community is not complicated; it is hard. We can never let the challenges hold us back. Instead, we need to rise up to the challenge for the sake of our communities and character.

Join us for a #SpiritChat conversation about change and community. As part of this conversation, consider starting a small project of change within your community on January 20^th. A grassroots initiative started called #One20. The goal: On Inauguration Day, let’s make it a day of doing good works. Let’s show our better side by doing good where we are. Let us act on the change we what to see and experience. Learn more at One20.today and on the One20Today Facebook page.

Jon Mertz is the author of Activate Leadership: Aspen Truths to Empower Millennial Leaders and founder of Thin Difference, a cross-generational community to connect leaders on purpose. You can join the conversation on Facebook by liking the Thin Difference page.

Ajmanik’s Note: I am so very excited to host my long-time friend Jon Mertz in our weekly #SpiritChat twitter chat on Sunday, January 15th at 9am ET/2pm UTC. Jon’s theme of a ‘call to  action’ to create change is a perfect example of “Karma Yoga” – the practice of Yoga through ‘Karma’ or action. Do join me (@AjmaniK) and Jon (@ThinDifference) this Sunday!