I finally got my driving license renewed! Yay! The freedom that comes with being in control of your own path is exhilarating even if it is only to the neighbourhood market:)
Given this long gap, I noticed today that when I shifted gears I felt a bit of a jerk. When I drive and when it is the right time for the gear to change, it just shifts so smoothly as if it was calling you out to change!
I remember when I was learning driving, my brother in law made me really sense what was happening with the gears.....so if I stayed in a lower gear longer than needed, the car made a weird screeching sound. If I changed to a higher gear before it was needed, I felt a jerk. He told me (this was 19 years ago and I still remember!)...."Mana, listen carefully.....what is the car telling you..."
Today as I was driving, I realised how deeply this is connected to facilitation. One of the skills we have is to sense what is the the next right move. We may come up with a very detailed step by step design and are so excited to follow it as we have planned it. But when we are there with the group...somehow its like listening to the car.....we need to sense how the group is in every phase.... is it time to stay on a bit more in that stage or are they ready to move on.....Sometimes I just know that the group is not ready to move on and they need to rumble with whatever is happening a little more (like moving to the second gear much too quickly....) And sometimes I know that the group is just calling for the next step. Sometimes the next step as I had planned it does not even make sense (like moving to second gear after the third when you have a wide open road in front of you!)
When our design and flexibility matches the pace of the group, magic happens. Something we may not even have imagined. And this "sensing" is a lifelong homework ....
So next time you drive, just notice how you feel? Notice your connection with the car? Listen to what the car is telling you.....and driving moves from being a technical head heavy skill to the heart/ hand art that very often makes it so much more fun!
Beautiful perspective! Trying to stay tuned to the team shows you understand that whatever we all are in a position to contribute to others, is in fact dependant on the audience's desire to receive. If we tune in to that collective expectation, without necessarily being logical but rather trusting our intuition to connect to the collective expectation, your moderating of the various messages for their learning will automatically lead to a massive leap in each individuals conscious evolution around those areas of discussion. All we need to do, is to Trust - simply go within, pause, find that silence just before the session, and let the trust guide our energies as the words weave themselves to connect with everyone....
ReplyDeleteI learnt driving two months back, haven't drove from last two months. The next time I will drive this is really going to boost up my confidence. Loved the interconnection between shifting gears and facilitation.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely true, I may be the best driver and also having the best car but i need to consider the environment while driving. I want to go at 80m on a expressway but that particular day, i may face new challenge. Accept and adopt.
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