--- title: The Obstacle is the Path description: I am known to say, “The Obstacle is the Path.” It’s a Zen koan, a type of puzzle, and I suggest an ancient example of upside down thinking. image: http://tamarackcci.ca/files/imce/6fea5f181cf75d4b2eb74bb6a7e43681.jpg --- [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=200&height=47&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) # The Obstacle is the Path Posted on May 3, 2015 [By Mark Holmgren](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/mark-holmgren) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) I am known to say, “The Obstacle is the Path.” It’s a Zen koan, a type of puzzle, and I suggest an ancient example of upside down thinking. ![](http://tamarackcci.ca/files/imce/6fea5f181cf75d4b2eb74bb6a7e43681.jpg) Think about that. The only way we will change things is to head straight toward that which blocks the pathway to change. It might be a system or the absence of a policy. It might be a program or initiative that has had its time and now looms as a problem we must address. It might be someone you do not get along with and your energy together saps your will and your spirit. More often than we might care to admit, we are in the way of ourselves. We resist changing our minds or how we see our work. We resist facing the possibility that we are the problem we need to fix. We know that to change communities, people within them must change, but sometimes, perhaps frequently, we don’t really embrace the fact that each of us must change, that “I” must change, not just “them.” The Obstacle is the Path. Head straight to it. It’s really the only way to break through the status quo and make big change.   Visit Mark's website: [http://www.markholmgren.com/](http://www.markholmgren.com/) Follow Mark on Twitter: [@mjholmgren](https://twitter.com/mjholmgren)   Topics: [Community Engagement](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/community-engagement) ![Mark Holmgren](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Administration/Team%20Headshots/Mark_Holmgren.jpg) ### By [Mark Holmgren](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/mark-holmgren) Mark Holmgren is the Executive Director of the Edmonton Community Development Company and a former Tamarack Director. He is known for his track record in developing social innovations, including the development of Upside Down Thinking, an approach to thinking differently, if not disruptively. ## Related Posts [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/campfire-tegan-mierle-widescreen.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/putting-residents-and-community-at-the-heart-of-climate-action?hsLang=en-us) #### [Putting residents and community at the heart of climate action](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/putting-residents-and-community-at-the-heart-of-climate-action?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/teerth-dhudshia-ambassador-bridge-reflection-windsor.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/windsor-essex-s-community-safety-and-well-being-plan?hsLang=en-us) #### [Windsor-Essex’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/windsor-essex-s-community-safety-and-well-being-plan?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/photo%20for%20diversity.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/the-gifts-of-strangers-understanding-the-benefits-of-diversity?hsLang=en-us) #### [The Gifts of Strangers: Understanding the Benefits of Diversity](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/the-gifts-of-strangers-understanding-the-benefits-of-diversity?hsLang=en-us) [![BACK TO THE LATEST](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829) [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=3401&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) ### Tamarack [Home](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) [Latest](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest) [Events](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/eventlisting?hsLang=en-us) [Donate](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/donate?hsLang=en-us) [About](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/whoweare?hsLang=en-us) ### Follow Us [** ** ](https://www.facebook.com/TamarackInstitute) [** ** ](https://twitter.com/Tamarack_Inst) [** ** ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tamarack-institute-for-community-engagement)   In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth we honour and acknowledge that our work occurs across Turtle Island (North America), which has been home since time immemorial to the ancestors of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples. ### Subscribe Be in the know. 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