Thursday 16 February 2012

Life 2.0?... What's in a name

A_gardener There seems to be a lot of controversy over the meaning of the term Web 2.0  with endless debate about its definition and scope.  It's supposed to be (I think) the next, more interactive and user-driven, generation of the Internet.  Some  however, think the term is pure bunk - an abstraction too far with no real meaning or value.
But to me the term conjures up a different idea.  I think sometimes, in order to make real progress in life, we need to step out beyond the horizon of our present understanding and stake our claim in the unknown, not knowing exactly what this entails or how we'll get there.  Sometimes, when our existing systems feel worn and tired, we can feel impelled to move forward to a place that is not yet clear - and I think giving a name to that place can be a good thing.  It gives us something, however nebulous, to give our attention to, and then this very act of giving it attention becomes the catalyst that creates the substance and brings it into our reality.
So how do we get to 'there' from here if we don't know where 'there' is?
Well, reason won't get us there because our understanding is always limited by our existing belief system.... and so it can never take us beyond itself.  As Albert Einstein   would probably have told us, you sometimes have to take a leap of faith in the direction of your dreams, leave the scientific method in the labs and go out on limb, go ride a sunbeam and leave the reasoning to 'reasonable' people.... trusting there'll be time enough later to draw the map and write up the notes. 
So what then does  it take?
Perhaps it just needs a little courage, trusting that what we need to know will be known when we need it, a little willingness to rely upon our intuition rather than our understanding - to 'receive' instead of plan.  As  Blaise Pascal  said:
"The heart has reason that reason cannot know."   
And so it is with this weblog, Life 2.0.  It is both a leap of faith and a staked claim.  I know that there is so much more to our lives than we are presently aware of;  and I know that we have the ability to transform our work, our relationships and our organisations beyond all recognition once we learn to recognise and accept the power of our inner Being, once we embrace this process of unfoldment of our true nature that is happening in our life right now.
The old ways are dissolving and the new way has not yet shown itself.  If this is true then must engage with one another differently as explorers and discoverers."..... Margaret Wheatley

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