Your Unifier Allies

When I was little, I trusted and admired the peace-loving elders in my community. As I grew, my people experienced more oppression from the outside world, and new leaders appeared who believed that it was time to fight fire with fire.

At first, I hid. I handed my authority over to the elders who maintained the peaceful ways of our ancestors. But when our community was attacked, again and again, I handed my authority over to the leaders who fought back. I watched them become more and more like our enemies as divisiveness grew in our village. I was tired of giving my power away to dictator types, who never bothered to ask what I thought or how I felt. I was tired of waiting for others to get it right. So I stepped forward as a leader and fought for my people and for justice everywhere.

Over the years, I attracted many followers. Always certain I was on the right side of justice, a deep ambition grew in me that was fueled by an anger I hadn’t yet owned. One day I scolded a young woman for not listening to me or following my advice. Her tears showed me I had lost my way. From that day on, I stopped leading and started listening. I discovered that every community member was wise and capable of making an important contribution to our people’s path.

Today I am no longer fueled by a fear of oppression, or the desire for external recognition. I don’t need everyone to understand the way I lead, or why I do what I do. What drives me now is a deep love of service, and the belief that there is no such thing as a healthy community without healthy, free and autonomous individuals.

When I guide groups, I interfere as little as possible, and always find that each person’s wisdom and gifts just naturally rise to the surface. The less I push my agenda for the group, the deeper the communication, the more transformative the action, and the smoother the implementation of the vision becomes. There will be more and more leaders like me as we move into the future. I know this to be true. Thus I am able to trust in humanity, even during these turbulent times.