As anyone who has spent five minutes with me knows, I am passionate about skiing. I use it as a teaching metaphor for leaders and leadership, and I know of few other activities that, for me at least, can equal such a profound sense of ONEness.
In Rudi MiickÃs blog, he describes a book by Rick Phipps called Skiing Zen. He tells a story from the book in which Phipps meets a sensei/monk, of whom he is permitted to ask just one question. Rick asks a question about sports through a translator:
“There are moments when time seems to slow down, when everything is clear and effortless. I know what is about tohappen and just what to do. Sometimes it doesn’t even seem like it’s me playing. I feel detached, empty – like I’m watching myself play.”
Nobu translated slowly then turned back to me.
“But it’s more than just sports. In these moments I feel something bigger, as if I am connected to everything at once somehow. I feel transcendent, religious, spiritual – whatever you might call it.”
The old man nodded slowly.
“But these moments are elusive.” I said. “If I stop to think about them, they slip away. The harder I try to grasp or analyze them, the faster they leave.”
As Nobu translated my words, the Master tilted his head the other way. Apparently, it was time to ask my question. I took a long breath.
“If sports require concentration and faith and years of discipline, and one comes through them to such moments of clarity, are not sports a type of… spiritual path?”
The translation seemed to take forever. Nobu paused twice in mid-sentence, searching for the correct words. The old man listened solemnly, his head bowed slightly forward. As Nobu finished, the Master opened his eyes and fused his gaze on me. A deep calm filled me as he spoke, slowly and clearly in perfect English, “Of course.”
Phipps expected something more, but the Master just sat silently.
This is what we teach in our Leadership Summit, and it describes perfectly, that feeling of being ìin the zoneî, of feeling a sense of flow and connectedness that makes the world seem perfect and oneÃs actions deeply aligned with our full potential.
Will you gain that sense in your work today? Is your work a “typeof…spiritual path” too?
