Mind the Gap

“ As we grow on the journey, we’ll begin to experience that breath, that Spirit, as if it is the very air. It’s everywhere, all the time, and we can’t live one minute without it. Isn’t it amazing that air, the thing that’s most essential, most invisible to most people is the one thing that’s everywhere all the time and free? “

– Richard Rohr, As Close as Our Breath

Have you ever stepped into a room and immediately felt the peace or tension in that space? It may come as a surprise to you that Edgewalkers are consistently alert to what cannot be seen. Some of us may be referred to as “skinless people,” meaning that we cannot prevent ourselves from feeling the air, spirit, emotion, and yes, the tension or peace that exists there. We feel certain energies from people, spaces, and relationships.

In Summer 2018, Cherie and I celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary. Leading up to the anniversary date, we decided that the entire year would be dedicated to celebrations. Part of that celebration was a trip to Paris and London. Cherie was already in Paris as part of a study abroad opportunity. I joined her at the end of her semester. As would be the case for so many people in these two marvellous, historic cities, we took advantage of the subway system to get around more efficiently.

In both cities, the subway experience included continuous announcements to “mind the gap.” This announcement was a reminder to travellers that there is a space between the train and the platform, and we must be cautious when entering and exiting the train. Lack of caution could result in stepping into the gap and falling, or at least getting stuck or injured. Failing to mind the gap, resulting in injury, is more common than one may think.

Edgewalkers, as leaders and facilitators of learning and continuous improvement, we are in the business of minding the gap. We are gap-navigators; we are gap-managers. We naturally see the gaps. We can feel them in the dark, like the furniture in the middle of the night when we are getting out of bed for a snack. We have learned to sense the gaps and negotiate safe passage to the far side. But that is not the end of our journey. We are also compelled to point out the gaps for others so they do not fall in.

As Edgewalkers, we seek opportunities to practise our art of walking the edges of the gap. We know where the edges are, and we feel comfortable to move to those edges. We even look over the edges to the uncertainties below. Such opportunities afford us the responsibility to ask hard questions and point out realities that subject matter experts may not be prepared to hear.

In such a space, I once had a Director of Education approach me to say, “Donovan, it is so good for you to be here. I always feel that as long as you are here, everything will be alright.” This astonished me, and I later unpacked the comment with someone who had been within ear-shot of the conversation. She clarified to me, “everyone in this room feels the same way. It is because you are a Godly man.”

The above conversation is one of those occurrences that will remain with me, likely for the rest of my days. It is these kinds of confirmations and affirmations from others that legitimize who we are as Edgewalkers. We see things, feel things, and know things that others may not be able to see, feel, or know. Even more important, we know what to do with these things. When we learn how to respond, and find the tools with which to do it well, we become an instrument of peace and improvement of great treasure to organizations, teams, leaders, and Creator.

When I pause to consider how I mind the gap, I realize that I must honour my divine-given core values. My values are not necessarily your values, though we may have similar values. So, as I unpack this process with you, I encourage you to consider how your own personal core values work in your favour as you mind the gap.

Once I learned the art of practising my core values, I realized they freed me from being stuck on many fronts. Even more, my values drive me towards my goals. They make me the Edgewalker that I was always intended to be.

Find My Grounding

My grounding is found within my first core value of spirituality. If I ever want to have a chance of navigating through The Gap, I must first find my centre and spiritual connection with Creator. I do this through meditation and contemplation. My meditations are based upon mystic reading, ancient texts, time spent with creation, and conversations with spiritual guides and companions within community. I experience meditation as reliance on my senses to explore what is behind the veil of consciousness. I seek to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch what is normally beyond reach.

My meditations naturally lead to contemplation of what I have experienced with my senses, bringing to my conscience that of which I was previously unaware. Contemplation takes many forms. I find the most effective methods of contemplation are through praying, participating in ceremony, walking in the trees, listening to the creatures around me, and feeling Spirit Wind stroking my hair and the rays of Grandfather Sun kissing my face. I embrace all of these, and none of these; they are not mine to own, but to experience as they also have their journeys to complete. They bring balance and clarity to my purpose.

Respond to Grounding

My natural response to spiritual grounding is expressed in my second core value of faith. In faith, I step forward with gratitude that I have been provided grounding—a solid foundation from which to launch into the day full of gaps. I do not look for the gaps and I do not need to. The Gap surrounds me. The Gap invites me to walk its outer-rims. So, I step forward with faith that my grounding will hold and my spirituality and relationship with the Divine will always be there for me.

My response carries me forward towards The Gap. I know I cannot remain in the calm of my grounding without responding. To remain would bring about stagnation. But though it may appear as chaos and danger to others, I move fully-equipped with the confidence of robin in its nest. I need not fear that which does not concern me. The only danger that is real for me is the possibility of living as something I am not. Robin cannot cease to be a robin for the sake of doing something else. An Edgewalker cannot cease to be an Edgewalker for the sake of doing something else. We are created to be this way. And so, we respond.

The Gift for Responding

My third core value is the gift I am provided for being true to my calling as I journey along the rim of The Gap. My third core value is teamwork. I learned long ago that if I am not walking-out my core values, I will either try to create a team of people who do not align with my purpose, or try to do things myself, outside of my communities and teams. But when I am true to my calling, and when I walk-out my core values, the gift I receive is a team that shows up without my needing to seek.

I recently published a book, Coffee Smoke—a collection of dialogues and reflections. Along the way, I often felt I was alone in my reflections, feelings, and even in my writing. But as I journeyed true to my core values, responding with faith, a team of supporters and editors showed up. The same is true for me in all circumstances. If I remain true to my first two core values, then my third core value is the gift I receive from my Creator. When this gift shows up in a good way, I know I am on the right track. When I have to force this value into existence, I know I am off-track and need to return to my grounding place. To not return can be catastrophic to my desired outcomes.

Results of Using the Gift

When I receive the gift of my third core value, embrace it, and use it for its true potential, the result is my fourth core value of success. I pride myself on the reputation of supporting highly-successful teams. This does not mean I do things myself and my way. On the contrary, the success of the team often seems to come in spite of myself. If I walk the outer-rim of The Gap on my own, I will likely not succeed. My success is found in accepting the help of the team I am gifted with, and harvesting from that team in an honourable way.

In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer speaks of the honourable harvest as taking only what I need and leaving the rest for others. This translates to planting and reaping with great care for the gifts I have been given. When that gift is a team of people, how much more the benefit of treating them honourably. So often, I have been carried, spared, and pulled back from certain overstepping into The Gap by the very team that has formed around me. This has happened because I have created the space for their potential to emerge.

Legacy of the Journey

When my teams succeed, I have the fortune of being able to speak great things about them. My fifth core value becomes the legacy of the journey through and past The Gap. The legacy is my fifth core value of truth. Best defined, this final piece to the puzzle is not just honesty, but purity and virtue.

B.K. Geeta said, “purity is the foundation of truth, and the practical proof of truth is virtuous actions.” (Purity is the Foundation of Truth, 2023). When I speak the truth of my teams’ successes, I am able to reveal their real identities as souls who have acted honourably and free of any vices. I see their purity of intentions, and I can identify alongside them when I have also been true to my core values.

What, then, does all of this have with minding The Gap.

I believe we live in a social and corporate world where so many of us are too busy to pay attention to what is required to avoid falling into The Gap.

• • Planners dance around the real issues because they do not want to rock the boat.
  • Bureaucrats dance around the real issues because they want to protect their own personal interests.
  • Parents dance around the issues because they do not want to admit their children are struggling.
  • Children dance around the issues because they do not believe they have a voice or a choice.
  • Addicts dance around the issues because they are afraid to admit they have a problem.
  • Do you get the picture?

The Gap comes in many shapes and sizes. Edgewalkers see through The Gaps’ disguises. Our success in journeying with the planners, bureaucrats, parents, children, addicts, and others, is based on our intention to seek our grounding on a daily basis—at the beginning of the day and throughout the day. Our first decision, and every other decision after that are all the most important decisions we can make. When we choose our grounding, and to follow our core values, we will successfully mind The Gap.

Donovan Mutschler, MA

For more information on the content or processes included in this article contact Donovan Mutschler at donovan@edgewalkers.ca.

Photo credits: Lara Dawn Photography; Louise Gardner and Russ Harris (2018), The Happiness Trap; Donovan Mutschler.