This came to me this morning ;-)

Why is it so important for managers and consultants in development assistance to be "awakened"?

Programs of development assistance are a place where two different cultures , belief systems, languages, governments, institutions try to communicate their shared interest. This communication has as its essential purpose something rather differentfrom "business as usual". Importantly, the money that is the potential for action, comes from the generosity of ordinary men, women and even children who make a donation or pay taxes. It is this generosity which is very holy in its nature and of a higher order than the systems - whether government or non-government - that only exist to serve it.

Within that context , managers and consultants have the duty , responsibility and huge opportunity to make it work well . This is because they are entrusted in their professional capacity, with the job to find out what works to allow that generosity to travel from someone's pocket, penetrate the administrative and working systems through which it passes, and enter the life of another human being . An appreciation of this context has been very supportive to me in remembering the amazing opportunity and potential power that lies in this job I do . The job is not personal. Anybody could have been recruited for this job . And , it is me who is here right now in this place . And so it is up to me to discover who "me" really is . A spiritual practice supports the examination and transformation of "me" (the mundane collection of experience, educational qualifications , skill set and personality that has allowed this person to be in this job ) to something less personal . I'm not saying that this is always the case , but that the direction of the practice is to be able to recall and remember. This I have found provides a steadying energy through which patience, creativity and the required humility can more easily manifest themselves . From there it is a short step to using the experience, educational qualifications, skill set and personality to determine the particulars that need to be done .

There must be a lot of people who are "awakened". Why doesn't development assistance work better?

Considering "awakened" in its grammatical form can also lead to a certain kind of laziness if one believes one is there . "awakening" is actually the continuing process which is much more linked to the immediate moment .  However, "awakened" can be understood to mean aware - that this is a discontinuous process and that we need to continually remember to wake up . A spiritual practice provides moments in the day to check in to awareness and to use that to see what needs to be done . I remember to look inside to the stillness and then to what "I" can do.