Speak –out not –up

Before one finds one’s way up, one needs to find one’s way around. In order to safely climb a ladder, taking steps has to become our second nature. Growing such a skill into our beings will prove beneficial not only when we’ll find ourselves escalating the various situations that life will put before us, but rather they will help us on our way down.

It is with every return to the basics that we rediscover our impotence of living in any other manner but by observing, being present, calculating every move and ultimately considering those around us in a yet another attempt of learning and enabling ourselves to become meaningful contributors to life.

Speak-out puts you in the present, here and now, nudging you to look around for a shoulder on which you may cry. It brings you to basics, making you to acknowledge that which you can handle, leading you to mindfully revisit yourself and your immediate environment, a default reminder of the trust that lies in and around you. Some call it feedback, and it works.

Speak-up is a line that invites first and foremost at contemplating the mountain of power that rises next to you, formed by layers and layers of unknown. While at it, it’s very easy to consider your findings worthless of the attention of those above you. In fact, in societies historically built on a high-distance-to-power culture, this syntagma is rather deterrent of the behavior it claims of the people, as it requires courage from those already in fear, resourcefulness from those already ignorant of themselves, trust from those already in doubt.

There is one altar and one only, on which all our being in a community is built or demolished:

– our relationships –

The quality of how we, as individuals, stand with or by others, determines the reflections of them through us as well as our view of the world and, most critically, our view of ourselves.

So, while speak-up may prove itself beneficial in life threatening situations and perhaps sustain the organizational stability to some extent, the speak-out will be the real measure one would want to make, as it will be a clear indicator of healthy relationships that people have, something which is transversal of any hierarchical inert setup.

It is the speak–out not –up, the trust, the relationships, which will bring your people together in times of need and it is the same that will help them survive in times of peace, helping individuals maintain a sense of worth and belonging when their contribution may not be required daily at their highest peak.