Christian Living

The massive dome at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome rises nearly four hundred fifty feet in the air, with its interior is nearly one hundred forty feet wide. It is the highest dome you will ever see, but not the largest one. The dome of the Pantheon built in the second century is a few feet wider and Brunelleschi’s massive dome on the Duomo in Florence is a few feet wider still.

To me, what is striking about the dome found in St. Peter’s is that you can make out, if you look ever so closely, the shape of people walking around the catwalk who dared to take the elevator up to the dome for what I am told is a fantastic view of Rome. They look like tiny specks and perhaps ants, but they are people at a great distance above your head if you are within the massive church. Those who know me well, know that I enjoy watching from below, because—though some would call me afraid of heights—I like to believe I merely have a “more healthy respect for gravity.”

What I can easily imagine is that the view from above is a different view.

In seeking to identify the seeds of excellence, there is a popular device (the Golden Circle) that traces the beginnings of excellence back to the question Why?

Using this model, we could critique the more common alternative of beginning with the outcome (the What) and arriving at the Why, rather than beginning with the Why. The idea is that before arriving at the process (How) and the outcome (What), it is of primary importance that we solidify the Why.

In a way the concept corresponds to reality, but there is a key piece missing. This model lacks the worldview follow-through to really work.