Becoming & Belonging (B & B) -- Weekly small group Circles for learning, connecting, and going just a bit deeper. Jump in once, or as often as your heart pings.
This rose, well it’s just in, blooming near our front porch. I love the morning sunlight waking it to a day.
This just in, also, in conversation, some life-moving insight.
“For many of us, our work is to awaken the practitioners. The practitioners of being awake.”
“And then to help steward the practitioners, which is to say, help contribute kindly to a field of awakeness. “
“And then to practice. It all loop on itself. Our work is to show up in our practice.”
Thx Toke. Yes, it is true that we humans can fall in love with being unconscious. And, that we humans can fall in love with being present and awake to life waking us.
I love the look of this Garden Mum, a Chrysanthemum, a Florist’s Daisy. It now lives in the corner of our back yard. I love the abundance of the yellow against backdrop of grey fencing. A splash of life. And, in this case, placed on some stacked stones, repurposed from a patio of old. Fresh wood chips too, they bring some life.
A friend reminded me yesterday, at the close of a call, that “it’s all practice.” Indeed. Beauty is practice. Attention is practice. Creativity is practice. Repurposing is practice. Caring for is practice. I like the outcome.
And, under all of that — just joy. I like the way it looks and feels. That’s what creating a little beauty does.
It’s the most basic string of Wander Questions. Think about them. Journal if you prefer (I often do). Take a short (or long) walk with them. Let insight come. Some are small. Some are big.
What has your attention? (You don’t need to report everything or only the big things. There’s a gift in picking one thing, that, kinda waves in the wind to your attentional field.)
Why do you think it has your attention? (Often, it’s exciting. Or challenging. Or embarrassing. Or encouraging. No judgement needed. Just sincerity.)
What might that have to do with who you are and who you are becoming? (Most things are connected. Some more than others. The psyche loves to make the connections more visible. Seriously. You get to guess.)
For me, today, on this Wednesday…
Well, I’m writing about it now in this post. “Wander” has my attention. The concept. The practice. The whimsy of it. The serious commitment of it. I like looking at the word with the spiral that replaces the “e” of “Wander”.
Why do I think it has my attention? Lots of general things. I like creating visuals. I like playing with visual space. I like creating meaning. I like creating invitation. I’m the kind of human that appreciates a bit of room to seek the deeper meaning. So many of my hunches these days pull away from the restrictions of stories and purpose statements that are too narrow. So many hunches pull me toward more conscious (and sometimes hidden) ways.
What’s that got to do with my being / becoming? This is where the deep values / yearnings / longings show up. I feel alive in the creative energy. I like that feeling. I feel alive in sinking in, and sometimes challenging, many of the smaller stories of purpose. Asking these kind of questions with my colleagues, friends, and teams — well, it helps me, them, us find life-giving ways together. This is the game plan for some of us. And needed. I like that feeling.
Ok, that’s me. Wander Wednesday. Basic questions. Important practice.
asd Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."
Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.
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In My Nature
asd
In My Nature is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."
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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Most Mornings + Note Cards
asd Most Mornings is a collection of 37 poems. I loved writing them. From the introduction: "This collection of poems comes from some of my sense-making that so often happens in the morning, nurtured by overnight sleep. The poems sample practices. They sample learnings. They sample insights and discoveries. They sample dilemmas and concerns."
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.
