It’s balmy out and the birds are singing.
Looking out my window over the neighborhood rooftops I see the clouds moving quickly across the sky, revealing layers of white and gray, reminding me of the dimensions that are always there in everything.
This month is zooming along, yet the feeling of early spring permeates the city. The scent of daphni fills the air, bulbs shoot up through the ground and there’s a persistent gentle breeze that blows through the kitchen window, caressing my face as I write.
As I listen to a client work through grief, of death, and adjust to the changes in their life, I can also hear birds singing in the background.
As I work with network clients who devote hours of time and heart to elevating up the voices of others and cultivating trust to collaborate for systems impact, I see a sunbeam flash across their zoom screen basking their face in sunlight on the other side of the globe.
Hearing the birds, and seeing the sunlight, I am reminded that there is a kindness in nature that is omnipresent and a grace that pervades the density of this world. And I ask:
How often do you allow the kindness of life to touch you?
How often do you allow yourself to be moved?
Lately, I’ve been thinking about capacity, our ability to contain and respond to life in all its colorations. The more I research capacity, the more I realize that it is about being as much as it is about doing. And yet I tend to focus on the output, the things I can touch, see and quantify.
Last week I read an article by Alan Kaplan about shifting the Paradigm of Capacity Building that stayed with me. What stood out most was the invitation he posed for us to become ‘artists of the invisible’ to develop a resourcefulness out of which we can respond, rather than being trained in past solutions, in fixed mindsets, and trained behaviors.
I’d like to leave you with two questions to ponder,
How can you be an artist of the invisible, in your work, relationships, and life?
And, what would it take to cultivate the resourcefulness from which you can respond more fully to life?
Here’s what I’m reading:
I just began reading this book and I’m appreciating how it takes a ground-up approach to exploring how organizations can support the people within them to experience meaning and fulfillment. The authors advocate for creating DDO’s, Deliberately Developmental Organization, rather than relying on coaches or external programs. I’m forward to reading the rest of the book.
Here’s what I’m listening to:
Brave New Work 96. What web3 means for the future of work w/Chase Chapman
This podcast from Brave New Work featuring Chase Chapman dives into the world of DAO’s decentralized, autonomous organizations and Web3. My colleague David Ehrlichman recommended this podcast to those of us in Converge as there are many parallels between the DAO space and the work we have been doing with networks in the realm of social impact.
I appreciate how Chase speaks about terms that often seem quite complex in a clear and accessible manner.
Announcing Converge, the network I’m a part of’s new documentary, Impact Networks: Creating Change in a Complex World
Impact Networks is an 18-minute documentary that illuminates how purpose-driven networks create lasting change by embracing interdependence and generating impact through collaboration. This film explores the patterns impact networks follow to accelerate learning and collaboration leading to social and environmental change.
We hear the voices of six accomplished network leaders behind some of the most successful large-scale collaborative efforts around the globe—from land stewardship to migrant rights.
Their stories reveal that although every impact network is unique in its focus and composition, all are remarkably similar in their approach.
Watch the documentary at converge.net/film
Available with English, French, and Spanish subtitles.
April 5th-May 24th 2022
The Network Leadership Series is designed to build your practice of network leadership and coordination through active engagement with frameworks, practices, and the experience of fellow network leaders.
Co-facilitated by My colleagues Carri Munn, Nick Viele, and I, the series unfolds in weekly online gatherings over 2 months. Each session offers small group learning and builds depth across our core topics of network mindset, coordination, and engagement. Learn more and register here: https://www.converge.net/trainings/network-leadership-series
Upcoming Class Series!
In June I’m launching a new series, Connecting and Apprenticing with the Deep Voice. This class was born out of my own work with voice, self-expression, and the subtle art of tapping into states of consciousness that allow me to flow and create as I did when I was a child and get past limited modes of thinking.
For those who wish to engage from a level of knowing that transcends the limits of your everyday mind, transmute the energy behind fear into a resource, and cultivate your attention, this class is for you! Spaces are limited to keep the group small and the learning more relational.
Learn more here: https://catalysttochange.biz/offerings/p/connecting-and-apprenticing-to-the-deep-voice-presence-voice-knowing