Vision.

Ready for something fresh? For the month of January I want to explore 5 traditional coaching themes… from a very non-traditional perspective. Over the next 5 weeks, we will look at the topics of Vision, Mission, Values, Planning, and Action through a contemplative lens. I believe these perspectives, and the practices attached, will give you a whole new way of entering your new year. Let’s get started!

Vision is the starting point for most strategic planning because it invites us to look ahead into our desired future. Where do you see yourself at the end of this year? It’s a great question because it offers us the chance to be intentional with our lives as opposed to drifting along mindlessly. Such purposefulness honors the gift of life we’ve been given by God, as long as we hold our vision with an open hand, knowing that we “see through a glass darkly.”

But vision is about more than what we see, it’s about how we see…and I’d like to propose that an idea as unlikely as the Trinity might shape our fundamental view of our lives and of all reality!

What if the Trinity was more than our way of attempting to describe the nature of God? It is that, of course, but it’s far more than simply a way to talk about a God who is Three and One at the same time: It’s a way to talk about the most fundamental quality of God, which is relationship itself. The most mysterious and beautiful and good thing about God is this divine dance of giving and receiving and inter-relating and self-emptying. Each member is distinct and yet each is fully interdependent.

What’s more, we are invited to participate in this magical dance! If God is relationship, then God is constantly extending themselves in relationship to all things. Including you and me. So at the heart of your vision for 2022, imagine your home, your work, and all the other dimensions of your life caught up in relational flow with God. That makes all of life holy, all sacred and beautiful, and all embedded in the love of God. Now that’s a vision worth being part of!

Let’s get even more practical.

The Trinity is a representation for what some contemplatives call “the Law of Three,” which overlays this divine design on all reality. Rather than the fabric of life itself being defined by two’s (dualities), what if three’s (ternaries) are woven into everything? How would this change your vision?

Think for a moment about just how polarized our culture is today: politically, religiously, socially. Newton taught us that “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,” and we see this played out every day. Every position, every belief, just about every truth or perspective you hold dear is challenged by an opposing belief or position carried by someone you know. This makes for a tense (and sometimes downright toxic) environment for living.

The Law of Three proposes that there is always a third way, always a third force that seeks to surmount the opposition and reconcile us. That invites us into the divine dance where we too are both distinct and yet harmonized. Where love rules.

Here’s a simple example: Last year, Kellie and I were trying to come up with a name for the new contemplative center we wanted to start. She had one preference, and I had another.  Impatient as usual, I pressed for a decision, but instead we waited for agreement. Several months later, the name “The Vining Center” seemed to just appear, and we both recognized it as the right choice.

The first force was one opinion; the second force was the other opposing opinion. The third force—the reconciling force—was to wait. Which led to a reconciling harmony: the final name. So what opposition are you facing right now…and what might the third way look like? Where does the Trinity want to show up for you now?

As you consider your vision for this year, consider that Jesus’ vision was seeing heaven invade earth. How might that inform your vision, your goals, your priorities? Where is the reconciling harmony of heaven entering and shaping your key relationships… with yourself, with God, with neighbor, with creation itself?

No matter how mundane are many of our hours, we are part of something big and beautiful. Take moment to meditate upon your vision for life in 2022 as participation in the God-dance, twirling, spinning, and joyfully seeking that third way, that reconciling choice in every situation. Your life embedded in the Trinity and extending the influence of heaven so that 365 days from now, we have all become more of our true selves, more of Christ-in-us-for-the-good-of-the-world.

Happy New Year!

Next week we’ll look at Mission as incarnated identity. Take one more moment now to watch this five-minute video meditation on the Trinity from our friends Ethan & Taylor.