Disconnect to Reconnect
To live is to live creatively
I recently completed a life-changing trip to Africa to hike Mount Kilimanjaro and go on a safari, which you can read more about in this issue. What’s not mentioned in the story is that I brought along Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being.
Before leaving for the trip, I attended Shannon Kramolis’ yoga class, during which she read excerpts from the book. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard good things about it, so I decided to bring it with me to Africa — I wanted to see what it was all about.
The book has many deep insights and opinions from Rubin, but the overall message is: “Art isn’t in the tools, material, equipment you use. It’s in the way you see the world.” He further expresses that everyone is a creator and that creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human; it is our birthright.
After ascending 14,700 feet to Cathedral Point and back down to approximately 13,000 feet to Shira II Camp, I woke up on the morning of the third day with the first feelings of worry and fear. We still had over 5,000 more feet of elevation and six more days to go. I experienced the onset of acute altitude sickness, our crew caught a 24-hour virus that put a mental strain on the team and we were all freezing cold. I opened my book up this particular morning for my daily read. I was on the seventh chapter titled, “Look for Clues.” The chapter was about paying attention to the subtle signs and clues the universe provides, asserting that, ultimately, there is no such thing as a coincidence.
The chapter concluded: “When clues present themselves, it can sometimes feel like the delicate mechanism of a clock at work. As if the universe is nudging you with little reminders that it’s on your side and wants to provide everything you need to complete your mission.” Recalling the notion that nothing was coincidental, these words provided the perfectly timed reminder that this moment of doubt and fear was simply created in my mind. I felt reassured that the universe would provide me with everything I needed — I didn’t have to worry. I was inspired, to say the least, and encouraged to complete our mission up this mountain.
That experience was a profound example of how a creative act can change the course of another. As entrepreneurs, leaders and decision-makers, I believe we are all creatives. Developing new business endeavors and collaborations and finding solutions to everyday challenges takes creativity.
Through the process of creation, I have learned the importance of disconnecting to reconnect. We must get out of the day-to-day business so we can reconnect to our purpose. Joining Endeavour Expeditions and Wander Africa on this trip of a lifetime with other corporate leaders was something I invite others to consider.
Though it was a difficult task, my experience of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro had a very simple strategy for success — “pole pole,” meaning “slowly, slowly” in Swahili. We focused on just the next step, one at a time. This philosophy lives with me today being back in Northwest Florida in my professional life.
There is an art to all we do, the most impactful being that of giving and supporting. As leaders, that is what we do — we give our time, our wisdom and if we are lucky, our patience. Nothing great comes easily or quickly, and that is a daily reminder. Pole pole.
May we all appreciate and experience a more artistic life and acknowledge the creativity all around us. Like Ruben reminds us, pay attention to the clues and the subtle signs surrounding us. You never know — it may just inspire you to do something extraordinary.
Much love,
McKenzie Burleigh, Associate Publisher
