Author: Tenneson Woolf

Nice piece here from The Marginalian (thx Jeremy for sending it my way.

Ain’t this the discipline and invitation and maturing that so many of us are working on.

In a world pocked by cynicism and pummeled by devastating news, to find joy for oneself and spark it in others, to find hope for oneself and spark it in others, is nothing less than a countercultural act of courage and resistance.

This is not a matter of denying reality — it is a matter of discovering a parallel reality where joy and hope are equally valid ways of being. To live there is to live enchanted with the underlying wonder of reality, beneath the frightful stories we tell ourselves and are told about it.

There’s a certain category of words that are slightly out of use, yet that I find attractive. Slightly playful.

Dandy.
Groovy.
Quirky.

They are fun to insert into moments of conversation. It’s like they invite a temporary suspension of the rules of the words that should be spoken.

Hmm…. I like temporary suspensions.

“Zeal” is another. And my friend Nicola used it recently in what of her invitations (Nicola will be featured next week in the B & B Series).

Zeal — it’s a tiny bit outrageous. How’s your zeal? Where’s your zeal coming from these days?

Nicola contexted her use of zeal with “curious, engaged, and alive.”

Gonna make it a “zeal” day.

Join me? Or us next Wednesday.

Today’s Becoming & Belonging Session is “Let’s Have A Story.” We start at 10:00 MT. Online. A small group in Circle.

Our format invites this most important of practices — “finding ourselves in another’s story, so as to inform our own story, our own path, and our own life.”

I guide. And participate. I tell the story, and invite rounds of Circle that notice “details” from the story.

And then we weave, and notice together. So often finding aha. So often celebrating a practice of presence and witness together.

And then on with the day / evening.

Jump in. You’ll find a welcoming bunch.

My friend Glen has a skill in framing.

Recently…

“Leadership Development is not a luxury to be enjoyed in good times.
Rather, it is a strategic necessity to survive challenging times.”

That’s a corporate environment.

And so, we do.

We are confirming our plans now for a fourth cohort, Leadership Development Program. Over six months, 24 participants. Starts with a 3-day in-person. Ends with another. A few connections in between. A project to work on with colleagues — “a question that if explored more thoroughly would influence the direction of leadership.”

That Circle above — we’ll do it again. Not a luxury. A strategic necessity.

I’m grateful to contribute. I’m grateful for awesome and adventurous colleagues.