Nuanced to Purpose

I quite love this image, some men that I worked with a few weeks ago. Men who work with young men in school and other community programs. Joy. Smiles. Play. And given the exercise they were doing, some cooperation. Some care together. Some commitment. Fun.

And let’s just say that joy ought to be one of the purposes of people being together. Yup, it often is joy of learning. Or joy of practice. I want that. Others want that. Joy weaves us. It can knit us. It can open us to many other fulfilling paths.

With this same group, I chose to nuance purpose in a particular way. Well, in a way that felt alive for this group. It was some of the opening words, when first sitting in circle. With a bit of tone of, “so what are we going to do now?”

You can see from the above photo’s white board the naming of “A Circle Workshop.” It was. Because this is a group that knows the sweetness of connection. And listening. And witness. And belonging.

Below, were my hand-drawn images that I spoke about and then placed in our center. In our hearth for the two days that we had together in this Circle Workshop.

Create a Pile of Connection — Some fun. Some healthy ways. Some adding to the core of the work that they were doing. It was my friend and mentor Meg that installed this affirmation of connection in systems — “if you want a system (including communities of people) to be healthy, connect it to more of itself.”

Learn Some Skills — That matters in a workshop, right. Of course. But I didn’t want to start didactically. I wanted to create a feeling first (of joy, of connection, of belonging). I wanted to create being first, then back our way up to the doing. What skills? Some things to do. Principles. Practices. Agreements. Some things to be. Some of the deeper why. Some of the utterly simple that centers.

Many Modes — Yah, it seems that for so many people, “workshop” connotes a lot of being filled with information. Often in a “more is better” way. Having information delivered to us with less regard to the mediums of delivery and sharing. I like to emphasize that some of it is play. Some is talk. Some is in the spirit of wonder and wander. Some is small groups. Some is solo.

Leave Something Lasting — They hired me. They contracted me. For a purpose. For a workshop. But this “something lasting” might be the most important nuance of purpose. It’s my buddy Chris Corrigan that often says, “leave more community than you found.” Sweet right. Or the lasting love. More love than you found. Or sparks. More sparks than you found. Or shared language. Or animated spirit.

Connect The Shit Out Of You — Yah, this one loops back to the beginning, “Create a Pile of Connection.” And it’s good sometimes to add a colloquial exclamation point. It’s truth telling. The deeper why is to become more “grown-assed people.” More matured. More able to listen. More able to share. More able to witness. More able to connect.

Well, that’s my version of some nuanced purpose. I find as a workshop leader that such contexting is often one of the most important things I do. To welcome people. To bring their hearts further in to the heart of purpose.

For inspiration. And joy.

Thx for reading.