Chasing Peak Experiences?

© Martha Wooding-Young, The Resilient Executive, LLC. Flying over the Himalayas.

Try opening fully to what is, as it is. While on retreat in Bhutan in the summer of 2018, I was invited to join a pilgrimage deep into the disputed states of Jammu and Kashmir. I left the safety and comfort of my solitary retreat cabin at a monastery in the mountains around Thimpu and flew to Delhi and on to a militarized airport in Jammu. Our convoy had almost as many members of the Indian army as it had pilgrims for them to guard. We were traveling with HH the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, head of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage of Himalayan Buddhism, so I guess the Indian government didn’t want to take any chances. We drove for two days into the Himalayas to the end of that branch of the road system: the magnificent Paldar Valley, where Buddhist saints wandered before us. Along the way we navigated washed out roads, administrative hold ups, and herds of domesticated animals blocking our route. The contrast to the serene and beautiful monastery in Bhutan could not have been starker … and yet … it was in the very contrast that the unfathomable beauty of both situations revealed itself. As Kahlil Gibran says, “The deeper sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” So too it is my lived experience that the more deeply we allow ourselves to experience the sometimes-turbulent waters of daily life, the more awe we can take in. Let’s not miss those typically unwanted moments … let’s not distract ourselves. They may be opening us up for the next bout of awe. And the more present and less distracted you are as a leader, the more powerful your ability to navigate complexity and change. Want to level up your leadership by getting better at leaning into challenge? Reach out.