Subscribe via RSS
In Chicago, In An Age of Super-Anxiety
Listening now to a discussion about family systems theory, a la Rabbi Edwin Friedman and Murray Bowen: how human systems (families, congregations, cities, etc.) function and dysfunction. Emlyn Ott leads the session.
This school of thought has had and continues to have huge impact on clergy and their leadership and, therefore, on congregations.
Some notes:
She talks about the present as "an age of super anxiety."
JK Galbraith said leadership is to name a major source of anxiety and to face it.
The power of a non-anxious presence. What is a non-anxious presence? Do we confuse it sometimes with a non-anxious absence?
Some characteristics of anxiety: more blame/threats; less imagination; less focus on one's contribution to problems; more undercover/secret operations; more attention to relieving discomfort; emotional interpretation of facts (e.g., healthcare reform); decisions are made based on the anxiety of the moment.
When is the only time a person is not anxious? When they're dead. The question is then, how do we manage our anxiety?
Cause and effect thinking is limiting: narrowing our perspective, limiting our options.
Forces of togetherness vying with forces of separateness. (We just watched the animated short, “For the Birds." Excellent. Worth watching.)
Is family systems theory about getting out of triangles?
Is the leader's job to lower systemic anxiety? Or, sometimes, to raise it?
Mistakes don't matter when we have the longer, larger view.
Differentiation: life-long process of keeping oneself in balance; with minimum reactivity; becoming more comfortable in our skin.
Tags: anxiety, family systems theory, murray bowen, rabbi edwin friedman
