Presencing: Finding Wisdom in a Trial by Fire Journey
Part 2: The Long and Winding Road to Wisdom
Read part 1 here: Navigating Uncharted Territories: A Journey Through Disruption, Reflection, and Action.
Walking the Less Traveled Road
Walker, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more; walker, there is no road, the road is made by walking. By walking one makes the road, and upon glancing behind, one sees the path that never will be trod again. Walker, there is no road — Only wakes upon the sea.
Antonio Machado. Campos de Castilla
In this second article of my Theory U journey series, I explore the profound phase of “Presencing” — the bottom of the U where presence meets sensing, where your present Self dialogues with your past and future Selves, and where your future meets You. Having descended the left side of the U through attention and awareness in my first article, I now share how I discovered my deepest intentions during times of extreme adversity. What began as a search for meaning in my sixties evolved into an unexpected decade-long transformation, tested through Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis and the global pandemic.
This is the story of how I learned to hold space between two worlds — the physical reality of an imploding nation and the virtual realm of global change-makers — and how finding my purpose in that liminal space became my salvation. When external circumstances stripped away everything familiar, I discovered that following the path of love could transform even the darkest moments into opportunities for growth and connection.
Initial Call and Awakening
“By following the path of love, we will be in the right place at the right moment to fulfill our role within the complex operating mechanism of the universe, making us aware that our tiny grain of sand is key to creating a better world for all”. — HB. Let’s follow the path of love.
In 2013, at 63, I felt a lack of meaning after completing an MBA and a professional career in Finance and Sales, so I studied Positive Psychology and Ontological Coaching. Those studies gave me the WHAT in my search for meaning, but I still needed the HOW. I discovered it in 2015, in MIT’s course, u.lab: Leading from the Emerging Future. It sparked a significant shift in my perspective on life.
The course taught me methods and tools to understand and navigate complex systems. More importantly, it prompted me to explore the deeper aspects of leadership and ask profound questions about my place in the world and my life’s purpose. It had an unintended result: I managed to innovate and sustain myself in a country facing a severe and intricate humanitarian crisis.
Dreaming of Societal Transformation
“If not us, who? And if not now, when?” “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” Let’s follow the Path of Love. — HB. Let’s follow the path of love.
Inspired by the U.Lab course, I dreamed of creating a critical mass of change agents to transform Venezuelan society. Despite a challenging political environment, we adapted the MIT course to Spanish but experienced tremendous difficulty financing our project.
Regardless of the challenges, thanks to a small grant from the Barrett Values Center, we capacitated 200 changemakers from all walks of life in Venezuelan society. In our three-month course, participants learned to trust their inner wisdom to create unique life paths, utilize Theory U’s potential to catalyze societal change, and harness the power of collaboration to pursue large-scale societal transformation.
COVID-19: Turning A Dreadful Time into a Liminal Space for Transformation
“COVID-19 pushed the RESET button to the society that we used to know, starting a de facto new era, a transitional one where everything is under scrutiny, an era of magnified complexity, where systemic change manifests in the form of massive disruptions brought about by wicked problems.” HB. Prototyping the New in the Post-COVID Era.
Although the chances of winning a US Green Card Visa lottery are slim, my wife did it in 2019. When we were ready to leave Venezuela for good, COVID-19 hit the world, and we were stuck in our country, losing the right to exercise the said visa. I still can't believe that a once-in-a-century event had truncated our lifetime opportunity. Nevertheless, given the rapid descent of the US democracy (the oldest in the world) towards the abyss of authoritarianism, segregation, and isolationism, I see that destiny had other plans for me.
Venezuela, during 2020 and 2021, became a giant concentration camp, isolated from the rest of the world and led by a ruthless dictator. Food and essential goods became scarce or nonexistent, making life a daily struggle for survival. During that time, I faced numerous setbacks, including financial difficulties and separation from my family and support systems.
On the bright side, I am still alive and kicking, a gift that at 75, I'll appreciate deeply for the rest of my life. Moreover, my life took an unexpected turn in March 2020 when I followed a hunch. Believing its message was crucial, I translated ’s article “Eight Emerging Lessons” into Spanish at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scharmer then linked his article to my blog. This led to his article being translated into nine other languages, mine being read by a wider audience, and me being invited to join the Spanish track team of the Presencing Institute’s “Gaia Journey” online event. How can a single and random event like a hunch unchain such a series of concatenated and transcendent happenings?
When you zero in on one intention, the universe provides you with unexpected and surprising new life paths to walk on. — HB.
What would have been COVID-19 for me without following that hunch? It would have been one of the most depressing times of my life. Instead, it was a life-turning point for the better. It turned the pandemic into a “liminal space” — a period of in-depth transformation that taught me the importance of having faith in a Greater Power and persevering in my intention during challenging times.
Sowing the Seeds of Transformation
“I’d rather focus on leaning into my discomfort and reaching into my own spiritual divide to let a different future emerge, and then act with confidence to overcome those disruptions, because it is not about the disruptions themselves; it is about how I react to them.” — HB. Co-Evolving, The Prototype is You.
During that period, I lived and worked in two places. Physically, in Venezuela, where I experienced the harsh realities of a country from which seven million people have migrated elsewhere. And online, across the rest of the world, where I build capacities, write, translate, and co-create projects with change-makers from different continents, thanks to the vast web of connections I’ve built through my voluntary work with the Teoría U en Español team, associated with the Presencing Institute.
The Spanish Track of the Presencing Institute´s GAIA Journey evolved during the following years into Teoría U en Español, a tiny group of nine Theory U voluntary change-makers from eight Latin American countries who, associated with the Presencing Institute´s u-school for Transformation, met every week to study, translate, adapt, and interpret that institution´s core programs into Spanish to teach them online to the Spanish-speaking people of the world. For us, it was not a job to be done; it was fun.
Working in this team opened the gates of the world to me because it allowed me to complete the complex pathway of studies and fieldwork required to achieve, in January 2024, the Awareness-Based Systems Change practitioner certification by the Presencing Institute. It is a curriculum designed to build the practitioner´s capacity to apply the theory, methods, and tools of Theory U to transform teams, organizations, industries, or communities. Today, I see my future with a renewed purpose and perspective.
Ecosystem Leadership Program Lat Am
Ecosystem awareness is the ability to see the world from a new perspective, one that is based on interconnectedness and interdependence. This new perspective allows us to see the impact of our actions on the larger system and make choices that benefit all. — Otto Scharmer, Theory U: Leading from the Emerging Future.
In 2023, I attended the Presencing Institute´s Ecosystem Leadership Program in Uruguay. I helped hold the learning space for 180 change-makers from Latin America, marking the beginning of a new cycle in my journey. I had the joy of finally meeting in person the colleagues and mentors I had been working with virtually for years, especially Otto Scharmer, the creator of Theory U. I had the opportunity to hold meaningful conversations with him, where I perceived his wisdom, compassion, and ability to connect deeply with everyone.
The event included round-the-clock activities designed to catalyze personal growth and collective awareness: making empathy walks in nature, intentional listening, scribing exercises, journaling, 2-D and 3-D mapping, Social Presenting Theater, letting go, letting come, Incan and Mayan collective healing ceremonies, and stepping into the Field of the Future, guided by Otto´s voice, while barefoot on the grass, feeling the southern sun shining on our faces.
It was a deeply immersive and transformative event that blended intellectual learning with emotional and spiritual growth, all within the framework of Theory U and the context of a supportive community of change agents. We gained numerous insights, which led to new neural pathways, connections with a broader network of practitioners, and a deeper understanding of our work and its purpose.
Presencing-based Ecosystem Leadership
… We grow in the direction of the attention and intention that we embody and radiate. Otto Scharmer
Otto Scharmer, Senior Lecturer at MIT, describes the Essence of Theory U in his new book, Presencing: Seven Practices to Transform Self, Society, and Business.
Theory U’s core process can be summarized in three words: attention, intention, and agency.
When our attention and intention are aligned, we call it mindfulness. It’s a critical tool for focusing on our way down the left side of the U. All contemplative practices require the alignment of attention and intention in one way or another.
When we align our attention with action (but without intention), we call that a reactive response: Going straight from a perceived problem (attention) to a solution (action). On the positive side, this can happen quickly. On the negative side, it may keep us stuck in patterns of the past.
When we align intention and agency (without attention), we call it mindless action: implementing without learning. We move from an idea to implementation without attending to, learning from, and adjusting to the relevant contexts.
The integration of all three — attention, intention, and agency — is what we call presencing-based ecosystem leadership. It is a core process that goes through two major turns:
• Attention, if broadened and deepened, gives rise to intention; and
• Intention, if deepened and clarified, catalyzes agency.At the heart of those two turns — which happens at the bottom of the U — is presencing: the capacity to be fully present to what is and what is about to emerge, and to the source of your highest future potential…
Trial by Fire
…for the purpose of transforming today’s disruptions into opportunities, Presencing is probably the most critical leadership capacity that the world needs to master in every aspect of human endeavor in the decade ahead. According to the Presencing Institute, “The Decade of Transformation” — HB. Facing Disruption With Presencing.
Whenever I turned off my computer, I turned on a different reality in Venezuela. A while ago, a former client of mine, the General Manager of a Danish company in Venezuela, called me to say goodbye. After living in the country for several years, he described it as a tropical paradise; now, he was heading back to Denmark. I innocently asked him why he was leaving. He answered matter-of-factly, “Living in Venezuela is like dying slowly.”
I did not know it at the time, but the Venezuelan situation was slowly wearing my mental capacity out. I realized it seven months ago after I stopped writing for no reason. I also observed other symptoms that had escaped my attention, such as not being “in the zone,” that highly creative state in which you produce extraordinary work.
… Liberty is like the air: you don’t notice it until you don’t have it anymore. To live in a country without liberty is to live an asphyxiating life. — HB. A Tsar Is Conquering Ukraine: Don’t Ask for Whom the Bell Tolls.
Creativity and Innovation are the core of my work. Consequently, all the alarms went off! I was familiar with the symptoms of burnout because I had previously experienced that occupational phenomenon. Therefore, I sought professional help and decided to eliminate the source of that malady; leaving Venezuela broke my heart.
My wife and I decided to leave the country for good. Fortunately, this time, we had a way out. Thanks to my eldest son, a Canadian citizen, we became Canadian permanent residents. We arrived at our new home in Montreal in March 2025 after spending the Canadian winter in Florida, USA.
Catalyzing Agency
Working on oneself is the only thing we can control — Christiana Figueres.
These articles bring closure to a decade of profound changes in my life and open the gates to a new reality in another culture. I’ve been traveling on a long and winding road where, at times, I felt stuck in the Crystallizing stage of the U journey. But as my friend, the Rev. Elizabeth Mitchell Clement, said, “Crystallizing is like Advent, you wait, and prepare”. I added “act.” You wait, prepare, and act. Now, I am all set and ready to go.
In these parallel realities I lived, I learned to maintain my faith steadfastly and to persevere in my creative work during prolonged periods of distress and uncertainty, supported by a vast web of international connections. In addition, I resisted the urge to react to external pressures and criticisms. I also learned the hard way the value of staying connected to one’s intention, even when results are not immediately visible, the importance of paying attention to one’s attention, and understanding that complex systems cannot be controlled linearly. Living through those experiences allowed me to embody a wisdom that cannot be learned by attending a course, reading books, or watching videos. I had filled the knowledge-wisdom gap through trial by fire.
The bottom of the U is not a destination but a practice — a continuous commitment to remaining present with what wants to emerge through us. My journey through Venezuela’s collapse, the pandemic’s isolation, and the loss of mobility taught me that our greatest source of resilience lies not in controlling outcomes but in surrendering to a deeper layer of reality. Through this “trial by fire,” I embodied Theory U’s principles as academic concepts and lived wisdom.
Letting the Emerging Future Meet Me
As I transition to Montreal with renewed purpose, I am convinced that transformation begins with presencing. The ecosystem leadership work that blossomed during my darkest hours reveals an essential truth: when we follow our insights and align with our deepest intentions, the universe conspires to open unexpected pathways. This is the essence of presencing — recognizing that even when external systems collapse, we can still access an inner knowing that connects us to the emerging future.
In this series’s third and final article, I will explore how this presencing-centered intention manifests into concrete action — the journey up the right side of the U toward agency and crystallizing new possibilities in the world.
Until then, I invite you to consider:
- What wants to emerge through you?
- And what happens when you follow that inner calling, even when external evidence suggests it’s impossible?
*Trial by Fire is a Chat GPT-generated image of Helio Borges walking on hot embers.
I will publish Part Three: Engaging: Embracing the Future with an Open Mind, Heart, and Will next week.
Note: This article was due two weeks ago. I apologize. I underestimated the time it would take to get things in order in my new home, including the lack of internet.
My name is Helio Borges. Through coaching, courses, consulting, and writing, I empower professionals and entrepreneurs to ignite creativity and innovation, prevent burnout, and nurture resilience. I reside in Montreal, Canada, and consult in person or via Zoom in English and Spanish.
For a half-hour free consulting session, contact me at:
Helio Borges. Montreal, QC. Canada. SMS/WhatsApp: +1 (263) 383–1903. Mail: hborgesg@gmail.com
