“None of us is as smart as all of us,” reads the caption of one photo of a little league football team. Neither is any one of us as strong as all of us.
I vividly recall the story of a father standing beside a large rock, who told his son to pick it up. The young man worked tenaciously at the task but eventually gave up.
“Pick it up,” the father once more commanded the son who answered “You saw me twice attempt to do so, using all of the strength that I have, but I can not lift it!” The father replied, “You did not use all your strength you have. I’m standing right here and you never once asked for my assistance. Until you use all of the strength that is available to you, you have not used all the strength you have.”
Too many of us spend inestimable time, effort and resources on good ideas and projects which we choose to tackle solo, often without consultation, seeking neither advice nor assistance from others with more knowledge, wisdom or experience. It is primarily those who have had the bounty of playing team sports at some point in their lives, who best understand the advantage of team work, for there is no “I” in the word team. Instead we find:
T-for tenacity and tolerance, which must rank high on the list;
E-for encouragement of fellow team members, especially when performance may not be up to par;
A-for admiration of individual team members and appreciation of the contribution each has to offer, according to respective expertise; and
M– for mastering the art and science of perfecting team objectives.
The addition of capital “T” to its spelling destroys the word and the meaning, both of which form the nucleus of an emerging global society and of the survival in the interim.
The human ego is so subtle, however, that often we do not recognize certain acts and characteristics as selfish. Among them we may find: “I must be first; What will others think and say? I must get my way; engaging in and listening to backbiting; argumentative and quarrelsome when presenting “My ideas,” to mention but a few. Also talking too much, depriving others of the opportunity to be heard; or talking to little, depriving others of my ideas, experiences and knowledge. Speaking too loud to attract maximum attention, or even speaking so softly that others must strain to hear you.
I’m sure we recognize many of these traits in other people and, if being honest, especially in ourselves
Much emphasis has been placed on “The Prison of Self” with an ongoing flow of passages, prayers, exercises, institutes and study circles dedicated to our freedom therefrom. Among them the self transforming prayer: “O God, make me a hollow reed from which the pith of self hath been blown, that I may become a pure channel through which Thy love may flow to others…”
Also in The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah we read: “O My servant! Free Thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thyself from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more.”
