“A BELLE&the BEAST CONUNDRum ”
The day I arrived in Paris last week, next to the Louvre Museum, I learned that jewels of the crown of France had been stolen an hour before I landed. Beastly chapter for the largest museum of the world - and for France. Beastly arrival in a grey cold Paris.
I was there to lead an Executive team coaching for a very prestigious hotel, a “fleuron” of the French capital. Beauty of exceptional beauty and elegance. With a very competent team matching its beauty. As I checked in, I felt I was “expected” “loved” “ cherished” and “pampered”. Belle, the Beauty, you are Belle.
The Executive Team coaching session actually happened near Paris in a monastery transformed with the addition of a mansion and other buildings into a retreat center, in the middle of forests, large ponds, horse stables, and all filled with positive energies - and rays of sunlight. Apparently the monastery’s middle age celebrity, St Thibaud de Marly, helped a famous king of France, Louis IX known as St Louis, father 11 children with Marguerite de Provence (after it was said he could not have any). Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay is a magic place for sure.
Extreme Beauty. Extreme positive energy. The session was a clear success as the team was going thru unspoken pains, and needed to reconnect themselves with themselves, a new leader and a new project. Finding the right place for a transition is essential, to cultivate what’s needed to lift the curse and to let the Prince (re-) emerge (you may remember that the Beast is actually a Prince, that got cursed, and he needs to love and be loved to lift the curse. The Prince or Princess). It happened in that story and Belle and the Beast found love.
If I take a more systemic view of the world ( as a french-american who often spend time elsewhere in the world) I find we are in the middle of a tragic conundrum, where we have so much wealth, knowledge, ways to take care of ourselves - Belle - and in the same time there is so much pain, hatred, wars, starvations, and ego driven behaviors to accumulate power and wealth, to a point where nothing else seems to matter - the Beast.
The Beast in us as collective societies is difficult to be moved, to express our love of life, our self love, love of others, and to be loved. We are often unable to find compassion and altruism, the Beauty that would help let the Prince/Princess appear, and we are also numb and unaware of him/her, no matter how much we may be reminded he/she is there.
I have a passion to support enterprises and individuals with altruistic coaching. To support the emergence of meaning and behaviors that will make a difference for others while fulfilling the objectives set within an organization. It can be done by c0-creating an altruistic responsible form of enterprise. It's why our foundation in Nepal, that functions like a very engaged start up, is making tremendous inroads to help the youth find the beauty that will reveal the Prince/Princess in them. Out of the powerless feelings (the Beast) youth often have in remote areas of this magnificent country, they collectively build a new future.
At the conclusion of our Executive Team coaching in Paris, I was so honored to have witnessed that beautiful leadership team embrace their Belle and their Beast that let the Prince/Princess be the Prince/Princess, and allowing them to find a meaningful, love driven, collective promise they made to each other.
Maybe, clearly embracing altruism is one path to help us resolve the conundrum we are in?
Could we find enough self love and love of others to face the beast we all have in us to let the Prince emerge again?
