Weltanschauung: Habits, Principles, and Personal Choices Of
Moral Leadership For Leaders of Conscience in the 21st Century
Copyright 2010-11 By William J. Nelson, M.Ed.
"As a Leader of Conscience, I am certain that the forces of Darkness are sent upon us to prevent us from letting the Light into our world and reaching out to those that we lead. These dark influences are often disguised as things we love. Simple distractions that are often over-looked are abundant in the way these forces work upon us. They are most likely hidden in the voices of the ones we love and the material enjoyments we are attracted to. These distractions frequently divert us from right choices. Remember earlier in this book that the right choice for a person is sometimes not the rite way of doing things. I struggle with the idea that traditional methods are the only way to get things done. Especially if the traditional methods rely less on conscience and more on power plays that often are destructive rather than constructive. Right is not always rite and rite is not always right.
What is an exodus? Egypt and Moses. Jesus in the desert. Siddhartha Gautama fleeing from his princely life behind the castle walls and his journey into the woods. Battle Star Galactica’s rag-tag fugitive fleet of ships. Han Solo teaming up with a Wooki and the son of the Dark Lord himself. African-Americans gaining freedom from slavery and earning their full civil rights. Nelson Mandela being imprisoned and becoming president. The fall of the Berlin Wall. The Chinese Miracle.
Let’s first look at something from an Indian narrative. The story of the Buddha Gautama under the Bodhi Tree is a fantastic example of overcoming distraction and accomplishing a greater awareness. One must read the entire Buddhacarita of Ashvagosa to understand the life of the Buddha Gautama. In the text, Siddhartha Gautama sits under the fig tree and fights temptation, distraction, and evil. His battle against Mara, the “Evil One” proves to be a common theme in many such stories of leaders who have to overcome similar evil, temptation and distraction. First, a group of beautiful and sensual young women try to seduce him away from meditation. When they do not succeed, storms of lightning, wind and rain are conjured up. When the storms don’t send him packing, Mara sends in his demonic armies with weapons of flaming rocks, but Siddattha fights them and defeats all the armies with his virtue."
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