Human to Human

There is something about being clear,
with self and with others,
what a human (sometimes a cat)
can and can’t do.

Of this, I love being a student.

There is something about offerings
that come from love of circumstance and people —
from that clarity
that makes for a really good day.

This one has been with me these last few days. Thx John O’Donohue, Irish poet that died in 2008. Beloved.

May you have the grace and wisdom
To act kindly, learning
To distinguish between what is
Personal and what is not.

May you be hospitable to criticism.

May you never put yourself at the center of things.

May you act not from arrogance but out of service.

May you work on yourself,
Building up and refining the ways of your mind.

May those who work for you know
You see and respect them.

May you learn to cultivate the art of presence
In order to engage with those who meet you.

When someone fails or disappoints you,
May the graciousness with which you engage
Be their stairway to renewal and refinement.

May you treasure the fits of the mind
Through reading and creative thinking
So that you continue as a servant of the frontier
Where the new will draw ts enrichment from the old,
And you never become a functionary.

May you know the wisdom of deep listening,
The healing of wholesome words,
The encouragement of the appreciative gaze,
The decorum of old dignity,
The springtimes edge of the bleak question.

May you have a mind that loves frontiers
So that you can evoke the bright fields
That lie beyond the view of the regular eye.

May you have good friends
To mirror your blind spots.

May leadership be for you
A true adventure of growth.

One, I just like this picture.

Dana and I walked last night. Close to sunset. In the warm, dry evening of an Utah summer. There are a few ponds where we walk. I loved seeing this mamma duck with three ducklings in setting sun.

Joy.

Earlier in the day, I’d been reflecting on joy. On the importance of noticing joy — micro doses. Because they exist with the other micro and macros doses of sorrow and struggle. It’s grown-assed humaning to not forget that.

I’ve been learning — joy is an intention, a good one. Joy is an objective, a potent one. Joy is a deliverable, a fruitful one.

I asked it reflectively with a team yesterday — “As you think back on our weekend hosting together, what is one thing that brought you joy?”

I just like the picture. Yes. And I just like the enlivening that is joy.

Working this at a few layers. Glad for it. And for learning with others.

Glad to have been with the 50 participants last Friday and Saturday. One of the participants named some core purpose during our World Cafe — “I love being a healer.” It came out of a conversation about what patients really want, and what’s possible?

Sometimes the shape is Circle. In a hotel ballroom. It’s hearth. to hold us. This particular hearth grew to include hard copy pictures of people that “inspire us to offer our best.”

Sometimes the shape is small tables. For cafe and other small group work. As I shared with the group, it’s a large group conversation held at small tables.

When I host and co-host groups like this, I so often relearn the core narrative and purpose. I relearn it because I witness it. I see it unfold in front of me.

The basics go something like this:

• People want to learn.
• People want to contribute.

So…,

• Create a pile of connection.
• What grows naturally out of that is a pile of courage.

And that brings us back to fulfillment

• of a desire to learn
• of a desire to contribute
• of a desire to grow in craft
• of a desire to grow as a community in craft

Pretty cool.