Moving with...

Over the years I’ve gotten very good at doing what I do. So good that I know that the external observer – my client – would not physically notice any difference in my approach to delivering content whether I was "in my head" or truly connected to what I was trying to get across. I think this is a common dilemma for many. What compelled me to enter my profession was a connection to an ideal that I was passionate about. I wanted to make a difference. Making “mistakes” in delivering on that ideal didn’t deter me – I was once fired three times and never knew about it. I just kept going until whatever mistakes I had made were no longer a concern and the value I was creating became the focus.

Today, I can deliver just about anything associated with that ideal and do it masterfully. I receive rave reviews and produce extraordinary results. And, I sometimes notice that the passion isn’t there the way it was in the beginning. What’s the consequence of this? The client rarely knows and almost certainly would be hard pressed to verify that I wasn't passionate. I get paid and my family is taken care of.

The consequence is loss of true impact. In the martial arts of the East the true power of the practitioner is in the “Ki”. It's the energy, the force, that connects the practitioner's movement to the ideal of their art and makes it - makes them - a power to be reckoned with. My life, indeed all life,  is about movement and connection. Loose the connection to that which energizes the movement and we loose passion for living.

The consequence is death…not immediate and not readily noticed. The consequence is that I end up going through the motions of living. The consequence is that, one day, I look up and wonder “is that all there is?” and I notice my life is almost gone.