Human to Human

It’s a simple piece. Often quoted. To guide meaning-making and presence-practicing.

I’m reading it today from within my friend Meg’s book, Perseverance.

“Know that the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore.
Push off into the middle of the river,
and keep our heads above water.”

Indeed.

It speaks that reminder that I so often appreciate. Not only do we live life, life lives us. There is some surrender in that.

How freeing.

And on it goes.

I participated in an Art of Hosting community of practice call today. Via Zoom.

The opening check-in was in groups of three for 15 minutes total.

A man spoke of his recent Art of Hosting. “We danced. We laughed. We ate. We told stories. My heart is full of love.”

I smiled. It is the feeling that brought me into the Art of Hosting in the early 2000s.

A woman then spoke of her interest in the call. “We host process. We host meetings. I’m interested in how we host fields.”

I smiled again. It is the kind of question that has stayed with me for over 20 years. “Fields” is reference to the energetic of the group as a connected whole. I have found it to be the deeper work of facilitation.

What a sweet group.

What a sweet reminder of the deep and lasting layers possible when people come together with heart, to learn and explore together.

A few more words of exploration here — some praise for this body of work.

I love a big sky. I also love high-rising mountains. Up close and in the distance. I love a watershed.

Big skies and mountains and watersheds, like this above taken recently near my home — well these inspire.

They calibrate. They offer perspective.

The perspective that I’ve been seeking lately (and that has been seeking me) is three things. I think of them as instructions for living. As values to embody. As frequencies with which to contribute.

1. Go slow — Much of the world is frenetic. It moves quickly. I like the feeling, sometimes. I don’t like being stuck in it. The world needs ability to also go slow. To pace. To be thorough. To be celebratory of the moment. To bring dignity that doesn’t come from the paradigm of the instant and the microwave.
2. Be centered — Much of the world is scattered. It gets busy. Yet so often, distant from a deeper purpose. I like experimenting. I hold “experimenting” as one of my gifts. One of my “can’t not do’s.” It matters to remember the more purposed story together. What are we doing, really? What do we care about together, really? What undeniably centers us?
3. Start With Joy — It’s so often the smart start. Joy leads. It animates. It calibrates. It shifts energy. Joy clarifies the next step. Joy aligns. Joy guides. Joy resets.

I love a big sky. And mountains. And watersheds. I love instructions for living that have a way of clarifying so much of the picture.

I just like this phrase — “learn, be, do, become.”

It’s a path for many of us. It’s deeper waters. It’s deeper waters that sometimes starts with one foot ankle deep, and then another.

I appreciate Circle because I find it brings joy. And centering. For the procedural of contemporary life. For the profound of contemplative life.

October 23-26, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’m co-hosting and co-creating with Rangineh Azimzadeh Tehrani. I love the people that are signing on.

Reach back if you have questions or wish a little help imagining together — for yourself, your team, or whatever configuration of community you find yourself in.

“Breath and Belonging: A Circle Way Intensive lifts skill, practice, and imagination in the methodology that is Circle, and, in what lives beneath methodology — breath, belonging, return to center, and return to each other as a way of being.”

Save your spot.