The Gentle Rebel Podcast

The Gentle Rebel Podcast


310 | Becoming

May 31, 2020

What are we becoming? Who are you becoming? Where are we emerging?

We are currently experiencing a strange combination of uncertainty, change, and stasis. The future feels a little difficult to fathom. So I wanted to share some thoughts on these ideas because I think we all need a little bit of gentle reassurance and hope.

To 'become' is neither good nor bad. It just is. It's a fact. Everything and everyone is in a constant state of becoming, whether we believe it or not. We are always becoming, and we never fully arrive.

Becoming and Coaching
Coaching fast-tracks intentional becoming. From where you are to where you're going next. And the coaching process give the coachee autonomy over where they want to go, and ultimately, how they will choose to get there.

I have come to really love this process. Especially when I get to delve into surprising discoveries and breakthroughs with clients. When the person they thought they were becoming, and the goals they thought mattered most, turn out to be less important to them than they thought.

When this happens, the becoming is about getting unstuck, un-wedding, and releasing ourselves from the stories we thought were true. And aligning our next steps and actions with a fresh sense of what and who is next.

Becoming is about changing, transforming, evolving, growing, developing, exploring, following, leading, testing, trying, experimenting, learning, observing, noticing, reflecting, emerging, honing, whittling, crafting, deciding, culling, removing, reviewing. It can't be rushed. The process lasts forever, and the results don't last for long. There is no agenda or motive.
The Possibility of an Entire You
Within a single acorn is the possibility of an entire oak tree. A whole oak tree is inside that tiny little seed. That's pretty mad when you think about it.

It's the same with everything...Human beings. You. Me. Everyone we know.

The entire possibility of who we are was in that tiny little egg when we were conceived. The possibility of all we have become and are continuing to become. Out of that moment in space and time we have emerged and are emerging.
What if Nothing is Missing?
We often move through life with the attitude that something is missing. We search high and low. Every new idea is a chance to discover the magic secret. This leads us to believe that getting this mysterious missing part will help us to find ourselves, discover our purpose, or uncover our calling. These can be dangerous ideas. And are directly related to the image we have of the universe.

I've recently been listening to Out of Your Mind, a collection of seminars and talks by Alan Watts. It's been an amazing companion to me during lockdown. The recording opens with him speaking about the power of language in framing our basic image of the world. For most of us in The West, this image (myth) is one of two main models: The Ceramic Model and/or The Fully Automatic Model.
Myths (images) of the Universe
1. The Ceramic Model of the Universe
This is based on the book of Genesis, from which Judaism, Islam, and Christianity derive their basic picture of the world.

This image sees the world as an artefact. It is made in the same way a potter takes clay and makes pots, or a carpenter takes wood and makes tables and chairs. This sees God as a technician, who has in mind a plan, and fashions the universe in accordance with that plan.
2. The Fully-Automatic Model of the Universe
The original model has everything responding to and obeying 'the plan'. Watts suggests that Science allowed people to hold this image without needing to believe in God. Because the hypothesis of God doesn't help us make predictions about the future (the laws of nature/science/God are all the same. Regularity and consistency allows for accurate predictions to be made.

This model sees the world as nothing but unintelligent force. It is only the result of this exuberant energy and a mix of fluke and blin...