I’m in Circle today. Part 2 of an online series that I host, Learn (To Be) Circle Here. It’s been fun to offer.
That means I wake up this morning, a couple of hours prior to starting, with some fresh ideas for today’s circling up. Back in the day, the late 2020s in our work together, Amanda Fenton was the one that named this waking up clarity as “overnight news.” I’ve loved it ever since.
Overnight news is a bit of nuance. A bit of framing. A few of those bits are below. The bits arrive not so much as cognition, but rather as morning sun. Kinda shows up in the body.
- Circle is a kind of regulation, meaning mental health care for the group. It’s a practice for so much of the disregulation that occurs in much contemporary culture.
- Circle is hygiene for the group. Just as is teeth-brushing and wearing socks. Groups need such hygiene. So as to create well-being for the person and for the group attempting to go well together.
- Circles don’t need to be perfect. It’s not the perfect start. It’s not the perfect setup. All of that matters. And yet, I often feel as a host, my job is to help get the circle started (sometimes I talk first; sometimes I wait for others, or until the talking piece comes my way). Once started, it builds on it’s own life.
I’ll stop there. It’s good to work in threes. Yup, fun to offer in a space of shared learning and practice.
