What Is Co-Active?

At its most basic, Co-Active means simply being in action... together. Or perhaps it might be more appropriate to say being together... in action.

The co represents the relational and receptive aspects of our world. The active follows and represents the action-oriented aspects.

As the pace of our lives has quickened, we have become increasingly action oriented and results driven. It seems expedient to dispense with all the “soft” stuff of being and just push to get the job done that is right in front of us. Unfortunately, this leaves us feeling disconnected and desperate for meaning and belonging. We wind up with what we might call “the hamster wheel” experience of life as we run around alone in circles desperately trying to get things done, only to find ourselves right back where we started.

This is why it is so important to begin with the co. Action arising from this place of being and receptivity is whole and integrated rather than disconnected and driven. In order for us to experience life as whole, action must be grounded in being and our sense of connection to a larger wholeness. When the co and the active go together, the action of our life is nourishing and fulfilling.

Karen, one of the authors of this book, was teased by her colleagues because they saw her smiling as she responded to emails. When asked why she was smiling, Karen responded, “Well, I’m thinking about the people who will be reading this e-mail and the things I enjoy about them. I imagine the relationship between us, and it makes me smile.” Thus a task that could be dreary and isolating became joyful because it held a balance of both co and active, even though Karen was physically alone.

The hyphen in Co-Active is very important because it holds both the interrelatedness and the balance between co and active. The hyphen represents the paradox of “both and” rather than “either/or.”

Generally, we tend to live in an either/or world. Either we can be effective and get the job done, or we can care for the people in our lives. Either we can take a break and attend to our well-being, or we can work hard and accomplish things.

Yet, everything in our natural world teaches us that these two energies of co and active weave together in every moment. So, like the yin and yang of ancient Chinese Taoist philosophy, co and active dance together to create wholeness and balance.