Unexamined
Plateau, butte, mesa. Flat tops, steep slopes. Standing on one, my impulse is to look out and survey the surrounding landscape below. The view is the reward for the effort required to get there. Professional plateaus are different. They're usually identified by a sense of stasis, not achievement. I'm more of a progress addict rather than a career climber. Moving "up" can mean more than just greater economic gains. The journey is the destination? I do wonder if I'm still keeping this blog evolving and engaging after nearly 16 years and 743 installments? I fear repeating the same themes, like the importance of flexibility, intention, perspective, and empathy, and becoming stale if not irrelevant. I repeat myself when I feel like I'm not being understood. While I ultimately write for an audience of 1, I am still surprised when the world isn't as smart as I think it should be. I write every week because I need reminders too. Plateaus can mean sameness and boredom, as if scaling slopes wasn't required to get here. "God" isn't in the details, it's in the struggle. My trick, if I have one, is to try to ground these installments in some very specific current event or experience. However, as I probe the details, common themes tend to repeatedly emerge. It's the same with my consulting projects. While the color and flavors may vary, certain fundamental barriers and characteristics seem immutable. Like clouds with their infinite shapes, they are all still ultimately composed of water vapor. The biggest disappointment is achieving some plateau and having the view blocked by overcast or not even recognizing it’s there. Pay attention.
