There was a wonderful story carried in Reader’s Digest many, many years ago. It is the story of Arthur Gordon. He was a successful man but under an enormous amount of pressure. He was feeling ill and went to the doctor for diagnosis and treatment. The doctor knew him well enough to know that this was not a problem that was physically based. And, this was a doctor wise enough to not mask the symptoms with medicine but to treat the true cause of the problem.
He asked Arthur to wait while he went into his office and came back a few minutes later with four envelopes. He said they were four prescriptions. He was to take a day and go to the beach. Then, every three hours, he was to open one of the prescriptions. As he opened the envelopes, they read:
1. Listen carefully.
2. Try reaching back.
3. Re-examine your motives.
4. Write your troubles in the sand.
Your understanding of this story is dependent upon your own level of empowerment – Your own authenticity. When you feel dis-empowered, your theory of change has everyone else changing. But, if you feel empowered, your theory of change involves the change that begins in you. This is a story of how change begins in you.
Copyright © Richard Leslie Parrott, Ph.D.