The personal is global

If there is a certain capacity in someone else, that capacity is within you. And vice versa.

When you notice something in someone else, that thing exists within you to a certain extent, depending on a multitude of factors.

You may be tempted to think that “he is evil”, or “she is crazy”, separating yourself from the other. A more appropriately natural stance may be: “I wonder how that capacity exists within me, how it may manifest, where it is located”.

This allows the integration of shadows, a theme so popular and cited in Jungian psychoanalysis.

By the same token, if a certain capacity is within you, it also exists within others. Lying, deceiving, kindness, rage, emotionality, withdrawal. Some are more desirable and externalized than others due to the necessary social harmony and norm-following behaviors. All nonetheless exists always.

Curiosity and inquiry are a choice; the humble posture of openness required of those who lead.