I am currently conducting a fresh examination of everything I know of what it means to work as a team. There are two key facts, obvious to many but for me easy to forget, that have come back again and again to haunt me. The first one focuses on how easy is it to act like a team yet move with one’s own agenda. In reality there is little in between. The harsh fact is that external words and appearances can easily be deceiving for everyone involved so it is important to reflect on the journey. Secondly, external perceptions are always limited to the time and place that you observed them. What is happening now is little to no indication of what happened yesterday and carries no forecast of what will go on tomorrow! An observation of time is just that; a snip in the journey of the present.
If one remembers that then all kinds of things open up in the future. Questions are asked instead of accusation made. Dialogue occurs instead of expanding defensive positions. Relationships grow and learning exists (versus discrimination and stagnation). Yet bit pieces are small snapshots and can have meaning when placed in the right context, place, and time.
One of the oldest perceptions of God and life is the scene when everything is over. Far too often we can only see and imagine what John describes. “They were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing.” (Revelation 7.9)
Yes but what were they doing just a few moments ago? What will go on tomorrow – here and there? And before we move on the question that must be asked, is do we really understand the scene John is describing?
We don’t know, we are not sure, and we have no clue is the answer with reflection!
If we have just this last bit of knowledge enlightenment is a possibility. In the moment of knowing we don’t know we can learn. There is more, much more to the picture.
