What do you seek?

Oftentimes, when I talk with my students, especially those just starting their careers, their response to this question is a combination of compensation, growth opportunities, and a novel experience.

But what is striking is that the well-being pattern of these same people is that their satisfaction is most correlated with their sense of spiritual development.

At the very least, a sense of transcendent meaning and purpose.

The tricky thing with meaning is that it is highly subjective yet cannot be forced nor conjured out of thin air; one must undergo their journey to decipher how one can create and co-create meaning in a world that sometimes feels absurd.

I’ve asked this question to myself many times in the previous months. Maybe the most concise answer I can give is that I seek an integrally developed life, a context filled with infinite opportunities to flourish with like-minded and like-hearted people.

And a sign could be a sense of peace which is different from a sense of complacency.

Complacency feels like being stuck on shallow waters, but peace feels like a voyage on a grand ocean with comrades and loved ones.

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John 1:35-42. “What do you seek?”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-004: JANUARY 4, 2023]

If we know our scope, we can exceed our limits

The gospel of today provides an interesting story of how Jesus was identified by John the Baptist. This speaks of the importance of knowing ourselves, our limitations, and those who are better than us.

What stands out to me is the admirable self-awareness of John the Baptist. Imagine: what kind of man would you have to be when you know that you have the power and influence to fool others into believing that you are a god, but you choose to stay true to yourself and acknowledge your role? This is an admirable example of humility, of understanding who you are and your place in the world.

Maybe the lesson is that trying to stretch ourselves beyond our purpose’s intended scope might look like we are growing at first, but in reality, it might hinder us and people around us from having the appropriate space to flourish. We need to discern and arrive at a conviction of what our niche really is and where we are called to serve.

When we know our scope, we can flourish beyond our perceived limitations.

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John 1:19-28. John the Forerunner

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-002: JANUARY 2, 2023]

365th day, 360th piece: Meta-reflections about writing, authenticity, and flourishing

This has been my new year’s resolution for 2022. I wanted to hone my writing skills, reflection skills, and spirituality through a daily writing habit. I missed 5 days (days 6-10) due to COVID, but having 360 daily reflections sounds good enough. This is the last for the year, so I will indulge myself and do some word vomits! Haha!

I compiled all of my reflections and experimented with an AI qualitative analysis tool to analyze the most common themes in my reflections. The top two themes are “authenticity” and “flourishing”, which makes a lot of sense. What clicked for me as a person and researcher is that the critical realist approach to doing research (inspired by Bhaskar, Elder-Vass, and Archer) plus authenticity, the general empirical method, and action research for transformations (inspired by Lonergan, Coghlan, and Bradbury) are great meta-frameworks to craft insights about myself, organizations, and society. Through my reflections, I have deepened my appreciation for the Catholic faith’s concept of integral human development, which has great overlaps with the concepts of well-being and flourishing.

My reflections that seemed to have engaged the most audience are about the aftermath of the Philippine national elections, rethinking what being an influencer means, and the advent of AI specifically AI-assisted writing. Getting reactions and comments have not been my primary motive, but getting responses about my reflections and inquiries does feel good. But this practice is more about discipline and less about pleasure; I can think of many days when it was very hard for me to write about the passages of the day.

There are days, though, when the words seem to write themselves and I indulge. Just like this morning – coffee, a beautiful sunrise, and a serene morning can trigger inspiration.

For next year, I intend to continue this practice but with some twists to spice things up. I will continue to experiment with AI tools like Grammarly and ChatGPT or the OpenAI Playground as an “AI writing partner”. I will also look into converting some of my reflections and opinion columns into short videos or even podcasts, and I might experiment with text-to-speech and text-to-video tools.

Finally, the gospel for the day seems most appropriate to close this year’s round of reflections and even this year itself: “From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace…” I relate this with the following principles when writing and reflecting:

1. We write to express insights, not to impress. This principle goes back to my high school days. Back then, the maxim goes: “You write to express, not to impress.” But the question is, what are we supposed to express? These should be insights – nuggets of wisdom that are clear, relatively original, usable, relatable. The best insights are those born from attentiveness to experiences, intelligence in understanding, reasonableness in judgments, and responsibility in actions. The challenge with insights is that it is sometimes an elusive grace – it cannot be forced, but it can be facilitated. It is a special kind of grace to have insights emerge, and being able to capture it like lightning in a bottle is something that writers and artists should always be grateful for.
2. The flow experience in writing is when the words write the author; when flow is triggered, indulge but when it is elusive, summon discipline or be unafraid to dialogue (with others or with AI). Even though I have a natural affinity with writing activities, it is not easy to articulate insights. It is really a dance between discipline and flow, and I find that having others to talk with or having AI tools help me edit or consider different angles can eliminate writer’s block. Perhaps the paradox with pursuing integral human development or flourishing is that it is not an individual activity; it is not enough to want to grow. A person must will it but also facilitate (not control) conditions or context that allows such growth. I remember two Bamboo albums: “We Stand Alone Together”, because we are both alone and accompanied; and “As the Music Plays the Band”, because there are times when the words write the author.

This year has been one of the most challenging in terms of adjustments in my personal and professional life, and maybe the next year will be much more difficult. But with discipline, flow, and faith, I pray that I can always be authentic so that I can flourish.

Ending with my dad’s favorite speech opener: the only permanent thing is change, and change can be so constant that you may not feel the difference. If I can be and write the change I want to see, then maybe I can make a difference.

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John 1:1-18. “From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace…”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 365: DECEMBER 31, 2022]

We should stay grounded and let others lift us up

It is hard to prevent ourselves from overestimating our abilities and accomplishments. We must be careful not to get too ahead of ourselves; it’s easy to become prideful in the face of recognition and praise.

There is something more authentic about how we flourish when commendations come from others, especially people we respect the most.

Even if we feel proud about something we have achieved, we must not let this turn into arrogance or conceit. Acknowledging our successes can give us confidence and help us strive for further excellence; however, we should always remain humble in our pursuit of excellence.

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Luke 2:22-35. The presentation of Jesus at the temple

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 363: DECEMBER 29, 2022]

Reason and faith

Today’s reading seems to reflect my journey in life of trying to balance reason and faith. On one hand, I have always been driven by my need for answers, and logical explanations that make sense and provide stability. Yet, at the same time, I have also been drawn to faith – faith in God, faith in a higher power, faith that there is something beyond what we can see or understand right now.

Perhaps the way forward for us is to account for our thinking and feeling – what have we believed due to reason? Due to faith? Due to a synthesis of both reason and faith?

There is a reason why the more one learns, the more one learns how little one knows. As technology, society, and humanity advances, so too shall our spirit.

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John 20:2-8. He saw and he believed.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 361: DECEMBER 27, 2022]