The Weapons of False Security

The Weapons of False Security

I saw a monk working alone in the vegetable garden. I squatted down beside him and said, “Brother, what is your dream?” He just looked straight at me. What a beautiful face he had.

“I would like to become a monk,” he answered.

“But brother, you are a monk, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been here for 25 years, but I still carry a gun.”

He drew a revolver from the holster under his robe. It looked so strange, a monk carrying a gun.

“And they won’t -are you saying they won’t let you become a monk until you give up your gun?”

“No, it’s not that. Most of them don’t even know I have it, but I know.”

“Well then, why don’t you give it up?”

“I guess I’ve had it so long. I’ve been hurt a lot, and I’ve hurt a lot of others. I don’t think I would be comfortable without this gun”

“But you seem pretty uncomfortable with it.”

“Yes, pretty uncomfortable, but I have my dream.”

“Why don’t you give me the gun?” I whispered. I was beginning to tremble.

He did, he gave it to me. His tears ran down to the ground and then he embraced me.

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Coaching Question:
What “gun” are you carrying under the robe of your leadership persona?

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Story by Theophane, a Cistercian monk residing at St Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, CO.

Source: Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton