“Life is not about control. It’s not about getting. It’s not about having. It’s not about knowing. It’s not even about being. Life is eternal, perpetual becoming, or it is nothing. Becoming is not a thing to be known, commanded, or controlled. It is a magnificent, mysterious odyssey to be experienced.”
These are magnificent words from Dee Hock, founder and CEO emeritus, Visa, in the forward to Aidan McCullen’s book Undisruptable.
Just pause and reread it. You do have the time, I promise you.
This week has been a rich and disturbing experience. And I wonder if spending time with the notion of becoming wasn’t just happenstance. Perhaps it’s a timely gift.
Because we need to shift our frame of view for all the reasons we are familiar with but sometimes want to bypass.
Becoming. Taking a step into the unknown. Leaning into the threshold, the liminal space, rather than away from it.
Becoming. Recognising that our context shapes us and the words we encounter have clothed us with a sense of reality. Yet, these are transitory.
We need to be intentional about recognising both the place and relationships where we flourish. And commit to being there.
Becoming by leaving behind what is no longer fit for purpose. Or like skin we are now ready to shed. This is not in our control yet requires our yielding like a chrysalis.
Ultimately, becoming is an inside job. It comes from within if we will allow it breathing space. So let’s not forget this and be seduced by external narratives.
Finally, becoming is life-long. We can choose to ignore its prompts and decline to engage. And then our becoming stagnates or ‘swerves to rot’.
But it doesn’t stop until we do. Eventually.
Though even then, it’s simply a change in form.