“Hi Guys”
Why did I put the salutation in quotes? Because that’s how I greeted you in my first blog post on March 7 when I wrote about the tale of 2 storms. I wanted to connect those dots for you because today’s post is about the big picture lesson that came out of the storm … the lesson I call, “breakdown breakthrough.”
Back in the opening year of the Omega program, one of the participants told me of a concept that comes out of the engineering
world called, “breakdown breakthrough.” The idea is that some of the greatest
innovative leaps forward in engineering have come because something has failed
so catastrophically that an engineer realized that the only path forward is
through a different paradigm or perspective. In other words, a breakthrough in
thinking often follows a breakdown in some thing or some system.
Breakdown breakthroughs aren’t only part of the world of
engineering though. That term actually describes one of the dominant ways in which
human beings go through change … sometimes overnight … and begin doing new
things or they begin doing things in a new way. In most cases, what accompanies
these are new reasons for what they do. The word most people use to describe
this kind of change is “transformation.” Perhaps a better word is metamorphosis
… the term we use to describe when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. Such
changes require an almost “death to self” … the old version is replaced with a
completely new version.
My 2001 personal storm ultimately led to a completely
different approach to living because after a year or two of soul-searching,
reflection and pondering, I came to the conclusion that I needed to live
differently because my old way simply wasn’t working. I had a breakthrough in
understanding about life that came because of a complete breakdown.
Pastors, psychologists, counsellors, mentors and coaches will
all tell you that you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped … and sometimes,
people have too much pride to be able to admit that they need help … until they
have some sort of breakdown or until they reach “rock bottom.” Rock bottom is a
strange place where life can become a true dichotomy of choice; they can get
better or they can get bitter … they can find their reason to change or they
can become despondent about the hopelessness of life. Rock bottom is where
pride is broken, people stop fighting, and they “let go.” They almost “die to
themselves,” making metamorphosis possible. Rock bottom is also where spirits
are broken when people remain change-resistant … and despair and suicide become
possible.
Breakdowns can be the door to a breakthrough ... even a
transformation or metamorphosis. They can also be simply the end. The choice is
ours. My 2001 storm was a breakdown breakthrough … I got better, not bitter. It
was transformative, not hopeless. My reasons behind why I do what I do changed
… hopefully forever.
I find myself hoping that someday you each will have a breakdown breakthrough. But, it is a nervous
and cautious hope because in breakdowns, despair and hopelessness are also very
real outcomes, and in breakdowns, bad things and bad feelings are part of the
package. My Dad had that kind of breakdown; in his change-resistant spirit,
rock bottom wasn’t a place of transformation … it was just a place of despair and
bitterness. I don’t pray that for you. I guess what I really want for you is
the breakthroughs but without the breakdowns. The problem is that I’m starting
to believe that rock bottoms and breakdowns may be the best path to
transformational breakthroughs. It seems that suffering is actually an
important part of growing and maturity. No pain, no gain! I pray that should you ever hit rock bottom …
whatever that looks like … that you will not look down (because there is
nothing below rock bottom) but only look up … and that you will see that it is
Him, and not some generic “universe” who lifts you up, and that whatever work
is required to pull yourself up from rock bottom will be accompanied by an
equal realization that it is only through His help that you can fully emerge a
new and better creature.
I love you both very much.
Dad
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