What If Tension Is Not the Problem?

Keiko Ozeki
3 days ago
2 min read

Your presence may be the most powerful tool for transformation.

Holding Tension, Leading Transformation

Between Indigenous wisdom and institutional systems, tension naturally arises. Yet within that tension lives the possibility of deep transformation. This reflection invites you to slow down, remember your role as an instrument of change, and consider how your presence, compassion, and leadership shape the world around you.

Dear leaders working to bring Indigenous wisdom into traditional systems,

There is often tension between Indigeneity and the institutional structures many of us work within. This tension is not a mistake. It is part of humanity’s ongoing evolution.

You are not separate from this process — you are part of it. You are an instrument of it. Holding this tension with presence and care is part of your leadership.

We often look outside ourselves for solutions: new strategies, new models, new frameworks. These are important. Yet the deeper truth remains:

You are the answer — the answer you have been waiting for — because transformation happens through relationships, through presence, and through how we show up with one another.

Once again, you are an instrument of human evolution.

Please do not hesitate to fully be who you are. The world does not need just a few instruments. It requires many to practice together to create a collective movement.

Again, you are the answer you are looking for. Your being itself — your listening, your patience, your courage, your compassion — is the medicine you carry.

Show up as the person you want to be.

Lead by example.

Your way of being leads the world.

And it shapes the world.