The Power of the Different

 This week's quote reads, "Better is not possible without different."

And I think there is a lot of truth in that. While it is possible to make progress by continuing on in the same old way, it is often the introduction of the new, the different, which causes a breakthrough, makes us see life from a new perspective.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not knocking patient perseverance. On the contrary, the old adage that "practice makes perfect" has a lot of truth in it. And if we don't persevere, we will get nowhere.

I think the point I am making is that it is only possible to get so far on our own. In order to make a leap in our progress / skill / understanding, I believe that we need input from others - something different, something new. Which enables us to see (whatever it is) in a new light.

So artists, innovators and scientists like Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Edison, the Curies (to give some random examples) come up with a new and brilliant concept, after which others follow in their footsteps, adapting and improving. But the initial spark has to come from somewhere. We even talk of it as "the lightbulb moment" or "the Eureka moment" - that instant when a new idea enters our brain and suddenly, the path forward is clear. Yes, it's going to take a lot of work (which is where the patient perseverance comes in), but the spark of that initial idea can be fanned into a flame which will warm multitudes.

This openness to the new, the different, is the great strength of humankind. The other is our ability to communicate what we have learned with others, so that they may benefit.

Of course, sadly, not all innovations are used for good purposes. We seem as a species to be distressingly good at inventing things to destroy one another and our planet... and I'm not sure what the solution to that is, if one even exists. But I hope there are enough of us striving for a better world, to make a difference.

Patience and Wisdom

This week's quotation was very timely for me. "Geduld ist die Gefährtin der Weisheit." by Aurelius Augustinus. Which being translated, means, "Patience is the companion of wisdom."

And I had little patience with the Google translation, which said that "Gefährtin" meant "danger". Then realised I had forgotten to put the umlaut over the "a". First lesson.

I think that what the author means is that if we try to rush ahead with anything, without taking the time to do the groundwork first, it will usually fail.

Fall flat on its face.

Ideas can inspire us, and we want to implement them straight away, but unless we take the time to bring other people with us, it is very possible that we will end up at the end of a very narrow branch, with someone sawing it off near the trunk.

In my own context, which is Unitarian ministry, this is especially important to remember. It often happens that a minister (or lay leader or committee member) has a wonderful new idea, then rushes off to make it happen, or to lay it before the committee, only to be met by lukewarm reactions, if not negative ones.

Unitarian ministry must be collaborative. The leaders in our movement must learn the patience to consult other people, to explain new concepts with patience, in order to help those other people feel his or her own enthusiasm for the project, whatever it is. This applies not only to BIG IDEAS, like removing the pews from a chapel, but also to small ideas, like moving the chalice from one place to another.

Change is difficult for most people. They are naturally resistant to change... very, very few people embrace it wholeheartedly, at least not at first hearing. So patience is needed to do the groundwork first, to explain the reasoning behind any new proposal, and to allow people time to mull the new idea over in their minds, so that they can ask questions about it. Leaders also need to be open to adapting new ideas, because someone has pointed out a flaw in our reasoning. This takes patience too, and also humility.

It is better to get people used to a new idea, by drip, dripping it slowly, rather than flooding their minds with it. Patience is the companion of wisdom.