Chapter 12
There Is Nothing WrongMost of us have grown up in a culture where there is definitely something wrong when things do not turn out the way we expect them to. If it wasn’t that way for us at home, it most likely was that way at school. Consciously or unconsciously, we have been acculturated to believe that there is a way that life should be, and if it isn’t that way, there is something wrong with us, with those around us, and with life itself. Letting go of this concept can be challenging, for we have also come to believe that change occurs when something is so wrong we can no longer stand it. We want you to consider that there is power in realizing that change can be initiated at any time, and nothing needs to be “wrong” in order to actualize change.
Consider this: you could change a job or a relationship that is in great shape. It isn’t a prerequisite that something needs to be in bad shape in order for you to move on. Making something or someone wrong diminishes you and your life; it places you in judgment of someone or something and separates you from the unity of life. Only when we are one with the whole of life can we know ourselves as fulfilled and complete, missing nothing. Many people spend their lives looking to complete themselves through accomplishment. What if the only true completion is when we come to know ourselves as one with all of life, with no separation or judgment?
Some people imagine that the flip-side of “nothing is wrong” is resignation to a set of circumstances. That is not what we are saying. We are advocating standing for what you believe, creating business as an opportunity to initiate powerful change in the world, including the awakening of its people, and a good starting place is the vision that there is nothing wrong.
I recall an occasion in which an employee contacted us feeling angry and unappreciated. In the face of this expression, I reflexively began to wonder why we were working so hard to keep this person on board. I started thinking, ‘This is a waste of time.’ I caught myself and shifted my attention to all the ways in which the employee had contributed to our company. I also thought about the beneficial difference we have made in the employee’s life. My judgment separated me from the win-win we had been for each other, the awakening process we were sharing. We could learn and grow from being in relationship; this person was actually contributing to us, in part by flushing out my impatience. When I let go of my inclination toward making the employee wrong, I immediately felt connected and appreciative.
Practice
Identify a situation at work where you are creating the belief that “there is something wrong; it shouldn’t be this way.” Now consider what the impact of that view is on the quality of your life. Ponder an outcome in which you let go of the idea that there’s something wrong and instead just see that this is the way that situation is–what would your experience be? What might you be feeling? What actions might you take?
From Sacred Commerce by Matthew and Terces Engelhart, published by North Atlantic Books, copyright © 2008 by Matthew and Terces Engelhart. Reprinted by permission of publisher.
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