Creating Synergy

I don’t think many of you go back and read the comments that are left after posts here on GOOD NEWS! But there are often some very good ones that you should read. For example, after my post “Peace Like a River” there were two exceptional comments. (Click here and it will take you to them.)

"Sweet Synergy" by Josephine Wall

I appreciate the comments left and like how they add so much  to what I've written. Achieving that synergy is what life is all about. Synergy occurs when two or more parts come together and the total adds up to more than what the parts alone would equal. When you have synergy 2 plus 2 equals 6 or 7 instead of simply 4. It's what happens when a violin, cello, flute, or viola come together. Alone each instrument is beautiful but together they make a music that is beyond anything the others alone can make or even what you would expect from the four together. Synergy is what makes a good marriage, a good family, a good friendship, a good ward, a good gospel discussion, and a good blog. So any of you feel free to add your comments or experiences or questions so that we all will be benefited.

And tomorrow I will continue describing the individual Truth Tools. For those of you who have been reading GOOD NEWS! for awhile I am welcoming you to add your own experiences with the Tools to help others understand how they work. A good story says more than all the dialogue can!

(I love this painting by Josephine Wall called "Sweet Synergy."  If you click on her name it will take you to her site where she explains the symbolism in the painting.)

Quilted

I mentioned before that I’m learning to do patchwork quilting. I’m enjoying the adventure. I’m also seeing such a metaphor in patchwork quilts about people. One of the first things I was taught is that when picking out the materials to be used in a patchwork quilt the most important thing is contrast. You need dark materials and light materials. You need various patterns. If every square were exactly the same, the quilt wouldn’t be very interesting. It is the contrast between the patterns and colors and intensity that make a patchwork quilt beautiful.

The same is true of people. The strength that comes as we gather in congregations or families is brought about by contrast not sameness. If we all had the same opinions or experiences or thought processes there would be no synergy. But because we are all different, when we come together we each add something to the whole—we make it better and more interesting.

As I looked around at all the people in my congregation at Church yesterday I was struck by how much each one of those people gives to me by enhancing the “pattern” the group makes. I saw quiet people who never say a word but add their warmth. Vocal people who speak up every few minutes during a lesson because they need to be heard. Thoughtful people who add intelligent information. Heartful people who bring love and emotion. Consistent people who bring courage and stability. Joyful people who enliven. Hurting people who take their turn at being the one who, for the time being, needs to draw on other’s strengths and thereby allows others to serve and grow. Every person in that congregation adds something to the pattern whether they realize it or not and without their piece, the pattern would be incomplete—would not be a beautiful.

When we back up and see ourselves as a piece of a bigger pattern, we gain a whole new perspective on life. We realize that instead of simply making ourselves look good, part of the task of life is to make the whole quilt look good. We give what we have to the whole and let the Lord, the Master Quilter, determine how that whole is put together.