POET — COACH — GROUP PROCESS FACILITATOR
Reflecting on a recent Becoming & Belonging offering (Flow Group), my friend Nadia reflects on the eight of us together and what was shared (thx Nadia).
“These are bold things, indeed.
To show up and share.
To listen and be touched.
To connect and weave together.
These are brave, wild, learning things.
Each time again.”
Yes. Bold, through the simple.
Jump in as inspired for B & B. For one offering or for several. We are getting to the heart of it, “brave, wild, learning heart.”
Yesterday’s bike ride — a treat to myself. West toward Bacchus highway (it’s 2 miles). Then south toward Rio Tinto Mine (another 1.5 miles). Most of this is slow climb. PS: I’m slow and steady on a bike; not at all speedy and sprinty. Then a slight coast down to the mouth of Butterfield Canyon (.5 miles). Then west again, and up until I’m ready to stop (2 miles). More slow and steady. There’s no finish line. Just the enjoying.
Looks like the pictures above. All on a paved road. Total climb is about 1,000 feet. An hour to get there. What joy. Breath. And enough challenge to be a challenge.
A pause to take in the creek and the mountainside. Eat the banana and orange that I brought. Sip some water.
The return is pretty easy peasy. 30 minutes. Mostly a coast. Saw a Wild Turkey. I’m reminded.
Be still.
In heart.
In belly.
Just ride.
Just move.
So much flows from there.
I listened to Ian McGilchrist and Mark Vernon a bit (thx Marshall). They talk William Blake.
“We have imagination. True.
Imagination also has us.
What if the world weren’t harsh and random,
but rather kind and patterned?”
So. Yah. Riding. Moving. Imagination having me. Pretty good to carry into the patterned day.
I wrote this poem at a time of life, a time of trouble, when I was exploring a few important decisions. And a few nuances of boundaries. And the steps forward that went with a few lettings go.
For inspiration.
Say Yes, Say No
There are moments in our lives
when we are invited
to say a real yes.
It’s not the casual yes,
nor the flippant yes,
nor the sarcastic yes,
nor the inattentive yes.
A real yes
can change everything.
A real yes
can establish a new direction marking the difference that was “then” and what is “now.”
There are moments in our lives
when we are invited
to say a real no.
It’s not the casual no,
nor the dismissive no,
nor the distracted no,
nor the avoidant no.
A real no
can change everything.
A real no
can set new direction of a claimed life.
It isn’t every yes and no
that begins a great journey.
But some yes’ and no’s
reset the heartbeat of life.
Yesterday I was in conversation with a pastor friend and student from the NGLI program that I so enjoy. He brings wisdom, maturity, patience, honesty, vision. But quietly, which I also love.
We were talking about Circle. The movement he is feeling in Council Meetings. Just by including a Check-In. Not as a “convenience if there is time,” but rather as “essential part of the meeting.” Yup, it changes or restores a relational baseline, which, guess what, is so often the work.
My pastor friend then talked about a class he has been teaching. There too, check-ins. He was naming how by doing a check-in, it brought him clarity about what to teach and how to teach it that day. He could reference their stories and questions and tidbits.
And then he / we spoke it together. He said, appreciatively, “I’m less prepared.” He said it with a relieving glow in his eyes, telling me that he would normally have 10 pages of detailed notes. And then with similar glowing eyes, I added, “but more ready.”
Yup. Circle. It helps with that too.
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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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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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.
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