Reasonable Nonsense - challenging a nonsensical era

Doors with confusing instructional signage.

The views of the blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions and views of the School of Leadership Studies.

I’ve thought from time to time what this era or period of time will be referred to in the future, if anything at all.

Of course, this is from my own point of view or interpretation, and it also comes from studying and researching vulnerable communication and masculinity.

There are so many ‘new’ terms out there, many of which I believe aren’t clearly understood by many of us. Words and phrases like ‘toxic masculinity’, patriarchy, and colonialism are becoming more and more common use. But what is it all about? Is it about men, or old white guys with power and privilege? Is it about millennials? Is it about people of European descent/settlers sucking?

Is it about the church, or politics? Right vs Left, Christian vs Islam, women vs men. There seems to be a lot of opposition and polarity right now. But why? What’s up?! Maybe it’s always been this way…

Of course, it could be about all these things, yet perhaps it simply comes down to one thing: questioning WHY.

This could be the era of questioning - WHY - in large part because of growing awareness. Once aware of something, one must become curious about it and question the WHY, or choose to ignore it.

In an era of super-computers in our pockets, it seems illogical that we have become more disconnected from each other, but that appears to be the case. We’ve learned to google the WHY, and trust the search engine. We fail to talk about it. The problem with the search engine is it is based on algorithms and history. The WHY is in the future, and therefore cannot be discovered through ‘the Google’ or the ‘world wide web’.
 

Is common sense becoming less common, or is there a new sense that is misunderstood by many? Or is there a growing awareness of connectivity, or even a collective consciousness that binds us all, so powerful that not everyone is ready for it?

So, perhaps this is the era of WHY.

The WHY often gets used to creating less understanding and more alienation, when it could lead to greater understanding and choice. We can choose to follow or we can choose to lead.

While trying to keep things the same, we follow, and inevitably, numb (drinking, drugs, binge-watching, gaming) to cope and pass the time. Lotto Corp, liquor and pot sales, Netflix and Amazon all do splendidly while we the people share a less-than experience. There are several billion-dollar industries designed around our less-than complexes.

So I question WHY.

Take the lead from your children. Or at least listen to them. They are smarter than you think. I’ve considered one of the greatest qualities of an elder to be their return to childhood (with the experience of life behind them they can see clearly through the lens of awe and wonder of a child).

Children will ask WHY. PLEASE do NOT discourage this. If you don’t know, then say so and research the question. Talk about it. Showing humility is so powerful.

Ask WHY systems are in place.

Ask WHY things are done this way or that.

If the answer is ever ‘because…’, you need to question the WHY. The WHY is embedded in humility and humility is a pathway to growth and discovery.