My Line Manager once asked a colleague this question - You
want deep or you want wide? And then he proceeded to drill down on deep and
wide. Said he, " By deep you are an expert in your field of endeavor. That
way you are an authority, but mind you, you are opinionated and too set in your
ways". "Now for wide, your sphere of influence is vast and you are broad in
perspective". Challenge however is you lose the plot when the issues are
specific and profound.
Let me pause! So we were puzzled. Do we want deep or wide?
Do we remain ordinary or become 'Special'? For years, this has been a question I
have grappled with and I have explored esoteric and natural expositions on
these concepts. My experiment has taught me something; "You can only go as
deep as the width of your beginning". The narrower your mind is when you set
off, the shorter the depth you can reach. If we stay wide on the other hand, we
expend unnecessary energy and yet remain shallow. A big minus for the latter is
that it is anti what works in today's world. Society is looking for
professionals, thus if you are a Pastor, it expects you to transcend the ephemeral,
just like the doctor that intends to make a mark must be a specialist.
My real concern however, is with handling and processing the
shortfalls that actually follow our depth search and outlook. Depth leaves us
too aware of ourselves and we may end up being arrogant of ourselves and we may
end up being arrogant or perhaps confident. So I have depth and I am at a loss
on how to manage it not to lead me to being over confident. Don’t forget that
confidence and arrogance are twins separated by a sheath - wisdom. Let me paint
a scenario - My love for my partner is deep, as in very deep and found it also
was making me treat her with little understanding. I was unknowingly becoming
monstrous - a bye product of arrogance. Another case; my friend is so certain
of his place with God and at times, I cannot differentiate pride from his
constant quibbling. Maybe it’s me thinking it the way I am, yet there is an
extent to which our depth becomes exhilarating and nauseating rather than
exuding an effective and infectious zest. Now this we must watch out for.
The charm of depth is in remaining humble and this is great
wisdom. The comeliness in this attribute cannot be over emphasized. Yes, one
need to exude confidence, yet once it makes you begin to see yourself as
'Super', "special', 'the one'; you lose the plot. We must strive to pay
attention to what we are transmitting by our little light. Am I a turn-off; Do
I believe I am so charming and the whole world worships at my feet. Do I as a
Husband, spouse, friend, brother, father, wife, sister, aunt, child make others
to see only me and make choices that should be mutual all about them finding me
irresistible. Am I indispensable? Do I have depth in telling lies, stealing and
just been dishonest - this is certainly no depth, its dirt. Where are you
showing your depth? How are you handling the issues? See I have depth, yet I am
human and want to remain one.
No comments:
Post a Comment