“Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone.” — Margaret Wheatley
When you were in school (or even now at work), did you ever work on a project all by yourself because you felt it was better that way? It’s not necessarily that you had to, you were just portraying some good ol’ fashioned John Wayne individualism and keeping to yourself.
I mean it’s ok if you like to work that way. I like it too sometimes. But lately, I’ve come to find deeper meaning in Margaret’s words. Why? Because collective knowledge is better! And what you will realize is that when you help others, they naturally tend to help you in return (isn’t that great?).
Such is the power of generosity!
Relationships aren’t nice to have just for the fun times. Relationships matter for the hard times as well.
So let’s try something new this week. Let’s reach out to someone we know or someone we’ve only just met… Let’s offer our help; whether it’s words of encouragement or a ‘helping hand’ on a project.
I don’t know about you but I’m going to feel better knowing that I’ve helped someone if even just in a small way. Let me know how you do…
[Flickr Photo by: Wayne Large]
Great post! It is a universal truth. Everything is connected. If we could all embrace this and remember that one truth, every single day, encounter and relationship we have would be changed. Thank you for the reminder.
Hi Staci! Thanks for the comment. Hope you had a great weekend!
I agree that if we could only take the time to help one another here and there, things would be just that much better 🙂
Hi Ricardo
Seems like we never have the time to lend a hand.
I'm just about to start organising a collection for Christian Aid and the problem… finding time!
Having read this post I'll make sure I find the time.
Thanks for the little nudge.
Keith: thanks for the comment! Time I think is something we all need just a little bit more of 🙂
Great post, Ricardo, and I'm feelin' the Margaret Wheatley quote. It is a core belief of mine. It seems all too often people get caught-up in chasing the dollar and miss the rewards of creating lasting relationships. I also love the integration of facebook and twitter into this site.
Michael: Thanks for the comment! I forgot where I read it (I like to read a lot). But it really struck a cord with me.
I've been making some changes here around the site and will continue to over the coming days. So far, I'm really pleased with things. Thanks for the feedback!
There's a great story happening in Sydney now, there's an organisation called Wake Up Sydney dishing out Kindness Cards. Like the movie “Pay it Forward” only hopefully nobody dies in this story.
Check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9f6PAjypS4&feat…
Interesting and yes, good movie. Not sure what got me thinking about this other than that I've been spending a great deal of time with colleagues and friends co-working. There's a lot of competition in our field of work. What's nice to see is that we're open to sharing and helping one another without letting self-interest get in the way. Anyway, that's where the idea for this post came from.
Off to check out the video and the story…