One of the toughest commodities to hold on to in the middle of any challenging endeavor is that of perspective. The mountain seems more insurmountable when you’re too close to it to see how far you’ve already come, and it’s hard to remember why you thought this adventure was a good idea when you’re smack dab in the middle of it and the tent has blown away and the flood waters are rising. Or, if the challenge isn’t one you chose, to remember that this, too, shall pass, and there might be gifts to be found even in hardship, and that you have company in your search for strength, even when you feel all alone.
So to unexpectedly stumble onto something that jolts you into seeing the bigger picture again is a gift, wherever you find it. The trigger might be the sight of a perfect star-filled sky, an encounter with someone far less fortunate than yourself, a friend reaching out to help you, or a stranger’s unexpected act of kindness. Or … in some cases … stumbling onto the quiet wisdom of others who have had to struggle for courage and perspective in adventures and battles of their own.
Such is the gift and appeal of Leading from Within: Poetry that Sustains the Courage to Lead by Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner. The idea of the book is astoundingly simple. Intrator and Scribner asked a wide variety of people who have leadership roles of one kind or another … doctors, ministers, heads of non-profit organizations, CEOs, politicians, and activists … to submit a poem that was particularly helpful to them when they felt in need of perspective or courage, and then to write a few accompanying paragraphs explaining why.
Wayne Muller, a minister, shares a poem called “Accepting This” and writes that he believes that “today, all good people are exhausted.” He goes on to muse about how the poem, for him, reminded him of what he learned, after two life-threatening illnesses, about learning to move more slowly, accept the help of others, and cherish small things. A doctor who was widowed with a small child shares a poem by Rumi and writes of how it helped her remember that by healing others, she could heal herself, even if, in the end, the most important thing wasn’t her own individual healing. Jim Kielsmeier, founder and president of the National Youth Leadership Council, talks about how he learned from Martin Luther King, Jr. that “everyone can be great because everyone can serve.”
I stumbled upon the book while searching for another business title in a bookstore, and found myself drawn over to a corner, where I sat, reading, feeling as if I’d discovered an unexpected oasis of remembered wisdom, perspective, and strength. And not wanting to put the book down.
The essays are only small snippets. And not every essay and poem is equal; some of the leaders have more introspective ability than others. But if you feel as if you’re in need of a little perspective … and a perfect star-filled sky isn’t conveniently close at hand … this book might be just what the doctor ordered.
