Ask, Offer

“Ask for what you need; offer what you can.”

It’s one of the oldest principles I know, first learned from Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea in the late 1990s. It was offered then in the context of creating healthy and affirming circles.

Well, jeepers. I keep learning new layers of this, including this week working with University Leadership.

“What I need” has layers. There’s an intuitive layer. There’s a gut knowing. There’s a mind knowing. “What I need” is sometimes something I don’t know. Or am a bit afraid to know, but come to discover in the company of peers, colleagues, and loved ones.

“Offer what I can” also has layers. The simple and the complex. The quiet and the loud. But I want to stay simple. Does it bring life for others or for me? Does it contribute life to peoples in shared endeavor? Does it feel right in the moment — mine so often is belly insights.

It’s such basic guidance. Yet, I’ve been learning layers of it now for 25 years. And yesterday, in Leading at MacEwan, I loved the way it looked on the wall next to this bouquet of flowers.

🙂

2 Replies to “Ask, Offer”

  1. I love synchronicity. I was sitting in a Circle yesterday and shared this wisdom. Now I have layers to add to the wisdom. Thank you.

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Gifts of Circle - Question Cardsasd
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This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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