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Finding a balance between the expression of our feminine and masculine traits might be one of the most important things we can do.
Our legacy - part of the problem?
The history books are packed with great conquests, battles, victories, bloodshed and losses. Aggressive competition is the perennial cornerstone in the free market economy, while super human performance and celebrities' are the pinnacle of modern day sport.
Institutions, organisations and projects of all types and sizes are driven, leveraged, maximised and optimised, by what are considered predominantly masculine cultures, norms and behaviours.
But for all of this power, strength, winning, being better than, bigger than and more powerful than others, we may have left ourselves woefully ill-equipped for the transition to a much freer and fairer world.
As Einstein said,
"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."
New beginnings - rethinking our role and contribution
Although good progress is being made with regard to wider understanding and acceptance of human sexuality and gender, which is long overdue - the point we are making here is that irrespective of who we are, we all have the ability to become aware of, cultivate and live lives that balance the masculine and feminine traits that exist within us.
Eastern cultures have long understood and refer to these traits as energies that exist within all people. Learning how and when we can embody and express them is a real opportunity and perhaps a necessity if we are to avoid a conflicted transition.
Feminine energy examples include:
- Empathy, nurturing, openness, community, intuition, compassion, devotion, receptiveness, fluidity, support, softness, understanding.
Masculine energy examples include:
- Adventure, logic, honor, strength, loyalty, focus, confidence, survival, action, leadership, efficiency, caretaker, power, firmness.
Real threats
Conquests, colonialism, competition, monopolisation, extraction and exploitation has bought us to a critical point. We have described in previous articles that the problems and predicaments we face as a civilisation are significant and the potential for a conflict ridden pathway into the future is real.
What we can do
The rhetoric here in New Zealand is "Be Kind". At a practical level the opportunity is really about being aware of ourselves and choosing how we apply our masculine and/or feminine energies in our every day lives.
Yes, there are social, cultural and organisational constraints and norms, but personal choice and responsibility should rise above this, especially if we look to each other for honest feedback on how we are doing, and help where required. (Please don't hold back on giving me feedback to keep me on course in future!)
Working for a better future
Support for individual and team efforts within institutions and organisations can be augmented through design of structure, process, systems, culture and personal development. Transition-HQ has a wealth of knowledge and capability in these domains - drop us an email if you would like to know more.
In the meantime, lets' be kind and conscious of which energies we are using !
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Regards
Grant
