Warriors For The Human Spirit with Margaret J. Wheatley, Ph.D.

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In this time of constant distractions and disappointments we become exhausted and heartsick as our good work is ignored. Wheatley speaks with fierce honesty as she gives us the map of where we are. She also gives us tools that enliven and reinvigorate us in our work and relationships. She says, “As the world gets more insane and more difficult and we encounter more disappointment, frustration, exhaustion, and overwhelm, we need each other like we've never needed each other before. How are we going to accomplish that? This isn't casual relationship or casual friendships. We have to be as connected to each other as soldiers are in warfare. . . I'm asking us to be warriors for the human spirit, to step up to the fact that the larger system is demeaning and probably corrupted but, wherever we are, we can create islands of sanity. We can create these places where people feel appreciated, where there's self-motivation, where we can bring out our good qualities of being generous and forgiving and helpful and caring to each other. That's courageous work; that’s warrior work.” (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)

Bio

Margaret Wheatley is an internationally acclaimed writer, speaker, and teacher. She began caring about the world's peoples in 1966 as a Peace Corps volunteer in postwar Korea. She is cofounder and President Emerita of The Berkana Institute, a charitable foundation that works with people around the world to strengthen their communities using the wisdom and wealth already present in their people, traditions, and environment. She is a guide in leading people back to understanding who we are as humans, being able to create the conditions for our basic qualities of generosity, contribution, community, and love. She is a grand contributor in creating an Island of Sanity in the midst of wildly disruptive seas. 

Margaret J. Wheatley’s books include:

• Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World (Berrett-Koehler 1992)
• Perseverance (Berrett-Koehler 2010)
• Turning To One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope in the Future (Berrett-Koehler 2009)
• So Far from Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave New World (Berrett-Koehler 2012)
• Who Do We Choose To Be: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity (Berrett-Koehler 2017) 

To learn more about the work of Margaret Wheatley go to www.margaretwheatley.com. 

Topics Explored in This Dialogue

• What is our current emergent culture
• How are we being manipulated to fear one another and to work harder and work faster
• What is entanglement and how does it affect our social attitudes
• How our DNA changes through our life experience
• How our brains are shaped by our habits
• How the internet is affecting our brains, social relationship, and workloads
• How technology, with its own values, is transforming us
• Why our capacities are diminished when we feel lost and overwhelmed
• How are we ambushed by hope
• What is the warrior’s path and what does it mean to be warriors for the human spirit

Host: Justine Willis Toms       Interview Date: 12/11/2012         Program Number: 3460

Music Playlist

From Album:  17 Seconds to Anywhere
Artist: Liz Story
1998 Windham Hill Records #01934-11291-2

Opening Essay: Track 02 Rumors of Discipline
Music Break 1: Track 04 Voices
Music Break 2: Track 02 Rumors of Discipline (reprise)
Music Break 3: Track 01 Captain April