Yes, my time has been free from my daily responsibilities at home. For sure there’s been plenty of leisure time to savour the different weather, stunning scenery, delicious conversations and enjoyable events. And yet I feel anything but empty!

External experiences have created the backdrop and been triggers for lots percolating in my inner world, and … it all still feels very much in process. I’d love you to share your thoughts and contributions – for those who can join me, the At Home call on Tuesday would be a place to do that … clicking here and sending me an email reply is another.

Ancient Grand Canyon immensity …

Reflections in Phoenix June 2017

In an attempt to capture the various threads and questions that emerge as I reflect, here’s some of what’s been stirring in me:

• The night before we left home, I fell and sprained my ankle … this impacted what was possible during our time at Grand Canyon, and heightened my awareness of the themes of transition (the internal coming to terms with part) and dealing with changes (that can happen in an instant)
• While in Phoenix I was part of a number of conversations that had as their focus the big challenges faced in many contexts – both business and personal – of the impact of the rate and pace and kinds of changes occuring in our world. So much of the ‘old way’ of doing things no longer serves us, and yet what will be ‘the new’ is often not clear, and even when it is, the transition to that is challenging
• Two days after leaving home, I received news of the death of a dear friend – a woman 30 years my senior who has been an inspiration to me both in her living, and her dying. Her grateful enthusiasm for life, and her continued curiosity about what else was possible meant she was beloved by many. Standing on the rim of Grand Canyon watching the sunset the evening of her death, and the sunrise next morning was for me a powerful way of marking the transition of her spirit from this earthly body into what is next
• I felt a deep appreciation as I explored among the ancient rocks of northern Arizona where evidence of the life of the ancient peoples who lived there abounds – the ways they lived with each other and with the land
• AND, even in early June where daytime temperatures often hovered in the 100+ degree F range (around 40C) I was equally deeply grateful for the conveniences available today – to just touch on the obvious, there’s no way I could have done what we did without the benefit of planes, cars, air conditioning, running water etc.

The red rocks of Sedona …

There are many questions pioneers have always faced, and they raise big and often emotionally challenging responses in us. Today we see evidence of this all around:

• As we navigate life in our rapidly changing world what must we keep/take with us, and what must we leave behind?
• And how do we expand our capacity to be with ourselves and engage with each other in our often clearly different needs and desires?
• Many of us see those who have enjoyed power and status in the ‘old world’ who are often unconscious of their own terror at the changes that are occurring, and their (often unconscionable) attempts at holding onto that power. How do we (those of us who hold the vision of a different way of being in our world) anchor more clearly the validity of this sense, and learn to stand and speak from our hearts, even in the face of pushback?
• And how do we (those of us who’ve felt the pain of being on the receiving end of this misuse of power differential) connect with our own sense of sovereignty and act in ways that don’t unconsciously duplicate the old ‘power over’ structures rather than working to co-create new ways of ‘power with’?
• How do we develop practices and community that support us in doing this, especially in the midst of the uncertainty of ‘the new’ not yet being clear?
• And what might it look like to use the new technologies available to us to make connections, and communicate in ways that make all this easier?