Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there. ~Jalal ad-Din Rumi (Persian Poet and Mystic, 1207-1273)
I heard this quote recently stated in a slightly different way: “Between right and wrong there is a field, meet me there.” Maybe that’s the 21st century version. When I heard this quote, I not only intellectually resonated with the sentiment; I had a physical reaction. I felt a sense of release and calmness. This is something we’ve lost at all levels: countries, religions, organizations, co-workers, and dare I say, families.
A few examples come to mind.
Not long ago I heard that one of the large international law firms here in Chicago had a dean from Harvard visit their offices to better understand how to recruit law school graduates. When the dean was asked, “What is the greatest challenge for law students today”? She replied, “Learning how to disagree with one another.” I’m not sure what I expected the answer to be, but certainly not that.
Between right and wrong there is a field, meet me there.
In Brene’ Brown’s now infamous 2010 TED Talk about vulnerability, she says “we now make everything that’s uncertain certain. Religion has gone from a belief in faith and mystery to certainty. I’m right, you’re wrong. Shut up. That’s it. Just certain.”
Between right and wrong there is a field, meet me there.
I’ve met with a number of organizational leaders about their employee survey results. When the results are not flattering to them personally or to their position, they sometimes get defensive. They do everything they can to discredit the process; therefore, the results must also be invalid or wrong. Thus far, I haven’t come across a scenario like this that ends well for the leader.
Between right and wrong there is a field, meet me there.
William Ury, author of Getting to Yes, describes a scenario among the Bushmen in Africa. “Everyone sits around in a circle and they talk, and they talk. It may take two days, three days, four days, but they don’t rest until they find a resolution, or better yet, a reconciliation.” Sounds like we Americans could learn from the Bushmen of Africa.
Between right and wrong there is a field, meet me there.
Imagine for a moment how your organization might change if when leaders disagree, they lived by Rumi’s perspective.
Between right and wrong there is a field, meet me there.