Who doesn’t love a sequel? Our family has sat through more than one sequel marathons. Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter both come to mind. Plots thicken. Characters develop. We’re left on the edge of our seats, couches, and bean bags. Will it be a happy ending or will we be left with a feeling of unresolved business? Kind of like life really. And what is life if it isn’t a thread of sequels. So back to this joy sequel and the thread that binds this post to another. Yes, what a waste if we were to stop weaving, repairing and binding. Life is to be continued. Its got you hooked, with the good and the bad, ready for the next episode.
I left you last with this whole concept of identifying and eliminating MUDA(waste in Japanese). You may ask, “What does Japan have to do with this whole surviving and leading a joyful life thing?” Simply put, it is part of the storyline in the movie of my life. I am here sharing sequels to that movie. You broadcast your sequel each day through your thoughts, words and actions. You have control of your sequel. Close your eyes. What happens next? You can actually pre-write the story. I can’t wait to tune in to your joy conversation. If you want to ”pause” this article right now and start writing your sequel, I would be thrilled. If you want to stay tuned in for a quick recap of MUDA, ending with some GEMBA, that’s cool too.
Here’s a recap of the 7 wastes to be identified and eliminated on your joy journey:
In order to identify and eliminate waste one must go to GEMBA. Wikipedia: Gemba(現場, genba) is a Japanese term meaning “the actual place” or “the real place.” Japanese detectives call the crime scene gemba, and Japanese TV reporters may refer to themselves as reporting from gemba. In business, gemba refers to the place where value is created; in manufacturing the gemba is the factory floor. It can be any “site” such as a construction site, sales floor or where the service provider interacts directly with the customer.
In our quest to manufacture joy, where is this place called GEMBA?
There’s a few ways to describe this. Imagine Angela Shelton’s journey interviewing women named Angela Shelton as her going to her GEMBA. She walked through her fear of the unknown, with her intuition as her guide, and went there. She met her truth. In Modern B*a*g Lady speak, “It led her to her own baggage and she tagged it.” As a result, here we are today empowering survivors to lead joyful lives. When survivors speak their truth, they go to GEMBA. As instruments of healing and change we need to go to GEMBA. Waste is a symptom, not the cause of why one may deny themselves of joy. Going to gemba allows one to observe and seek out the root causes.
Eve Ensler, the woman responsible for the Vagina Monologues, speaks of the impact going where women were victims of severe oppression. She speaks of this in her 20 minute TED Talk. She went to the place of the problem and got it straight from the horses mouth. It changed the course of her life. By virtue of being aware, she was compelled to dig deep inside herself to apply her tools and talents as a means to affect change. Going to gemba means observing with an open mind and heart. Stop. Look. Listen.
Terry Grahl is the President and Founder of Enchanted Makeovers. The mission of Enchanted Makeovers is to transform shelters for women and children into heartwarming havens. It’s the catalyst to help everyone’s dream come true. Enchanted Makeovers provides the vehicle for women to go to gemba. The Beauty and Hope National Tour provides an opportunity for women to make a difference in the lives a women and children living in shelters. The mission serves the givers as much as the receiver. A key to the national tour is to allow women from all walks of life to sit together in small intimate settings, weaving together a golden thread of their passions, hopes, dreams, struggles and triumphs.
The Action Part
For our reading crowd, I recommend the book, An Altar in the World, by Barbara Brown Taylor. One particular chapter, The Practice of Walking on the Earth, beautifully illustrates going to your gemba. If you are interested in reading it, just leave a comment, go to my website www.modernbagladies.com click on “contact me” and send me an email. I would be thrilled to mail the book to you.
In the manufacturing world, going to gemba means going to the factory floor. So, since joy is manufactured while living our lives we will need to go to our life and observe.
1. Find 3 containers. Label one “JOY”, one “FEAR” and one “FUN”
2. Find “post-it-notes” or cut paper into small notes. Label one pile “JOY”, one “FEAR” and one”FUN”. Carry the labels with you throughout the day.
3. Stop. Look. Listen. Observe your life and start tagging it in terms of JOY, FEAR and FUN. If you smile tag your joy. If you have your feelings hurt tag your fear. If you laugh tag your fun. You get the idea. Just write down a short description, what you were doing or your feelings. Put your tags in your life jars. Review your tags. Start there. You may see a pattern.
Until next time, keep spreading joy, shredding fear and having fun.
