Survival of the Sickest: Leadership, Co-dependence, and the Spiritual Journey

All groups require leaders, be they families, gangs, churches, governments, armies, or even cleaning crews. Someone has to be in charge, but that someone has been impacted by many different factors and could wreak havoc on the group or help it to realize its potential or even carry it beyond its wildest dreams. Survival of the Sickest identifies some leadership types who are co-dependent and, therefore, sick. Such leaders will use isolation as a tool to ensure that they maintain their leadership, since they don't want to admit or don't even recognize their sickness. Everyone else will be collateral damage. This can be devastating for someone attempting to grow in one's spiritual life, but also for society at large. We offer some spiritual exercises and stories to help to sort out and deal with some of these difficulties.