D is for Desert
There come times on both the entrepreneurial and life journey, where we become lost, when hope dissipates, and clarity appears far from our reach. How we have operated simply no longer works as it once did, and the path forward seems beyond our grasp. We become inhabitants of the ‘in between’, which for driven, successful, visionary entrepreneurs is unfamiliar territory, and deeply uncomfortable.
Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), the brilliant Mythologist, says in the Hero’s Journey that “The journey of the hero is having the courage to seek the depths; the image of creative rebirth; the eternal cycle of change within us; the uncanny discovery that the seeker is the mystery the seeker seeks to know.”
It is very much part of the human condition to enter periods of uncertainty and lack of clarity, feeling as if we are wandering in the arid desert, parched, lost, and empty. This is both a lonely and frightening place to be, where our once strongly confident selves witness our once clear vision dissipate, where those things we could count on slip from our grasp, and the answers we seek are no longer tangibly within our reach. We simply become untethered, and very little makes sense anymore. This is the liminal space – neither here nor there, this nor that.
The desert experience can be a dark place to enter, our very nature resisting it with all our strength – denial and distraction seek to ward it off. However, this moment requires our embrace and acceptance as we go in search of the learning it has to offer us. The reality is that these times are unavoidable, do as we may, and they are presented to us for a reason, albeit hard to understand. My usual pattern is to resist these times, to be impatient, angry, depressed, grieving, strongly avoidant, yet oddly not fully without hope. The desert experience calls on us to let go of comfortable attachments and fears and embrace sober discernment.
According to Richard Rohr, Franciscan Friar, author, and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, the concept of the “desert experience” describes periods of spiritual dryness, doubt and loneliness, often occurring during significant life changes or spiritual growth – business failure, health issues, relationships ending or losing those close to us. The desert experience can be a time of both suffering and liberation, depending on how it is navigated.
Hope lies firmly in the promise of some form of transformation and newness of life – personal, entrepreneurial, and spiritual. It cannot be controlled, rushed, or outcomes dictated – it is a process that we can only participate in, remain open to, and allow it to do its work in bringing new purpose and meaning.
None of this is natural or easy. Yes, we can resist these opportunities by choosing to put our heads down, pull up our socks, and grit it out, but that is an opportunity lost. In my experience, the ‘universe’ has a way of continuing to present these opportunities to learn and grow, until I finally let it happen and let the desert experience do its work. Until something is finally transformed, the issue/trauma/addiction/fear/dysfunction, whatever it may be, keeps coming back cyclically, often in different guises. If I choose to resist, the opportunity will come around again, often in a different guise, until I finally coalesce and accept the learning.
What, you may ask, does this have to do with business and the entrepreneurial journey? To that, I answer, everything! It’s when we realize that our winning strategy no longer works, and the answers are no longer clear. Nothing stays the same, and as Einstein is credited with saying, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”. So, what are we to do?
These ‘desert moments’ create the opportunity to let old ways and things die and create room for new ways to come to life. The desert forces us to stop, to see reality as it truly is, to regroup, regenerate, and head boldly in a new direction. It is forced disruption and forced clarity breaks at the same time. This is where innovation is born.
The desert asks us to:
Stop blaming others.
To take responsibility.
To move slowly.
To deepen awareness.
To hold paradox.
To open our hearts and minds.
To sacrifice our ideals of perfection.
To live the mystery.
And this is precisely why it is so frightening, yet transformational, should we accept the opportunity. If we do, we, as people, leaders, and entrepreneurs, will evolve and grow exponentially, gain razor-sharp clarity, blaze new trails, increase in effectiveness, and have greater impact.
I recently came across this poem on the website, A Contemplative Life – Reflections of Contemplation Living and Individuation. It kinda’ blew my mind!
Crossing, by Norwegian
Crossing the bridge
A heart selfishly twisted
Yet equally gifted
Now I know
Need to remember
Yet leave behind
To rise again
Made new
What to be
What to give
From this day on
Oh, creator of all
To you I pray
To you I call
Life me up, I fall
Hunger for wisdom
From the darkest den
Full of questions
Curiosity, my friend
Want to be
Want to give
Crossing to live
Until next time!
