Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen. [BRENE BROWN]
In-person workshops with my clients are like food for my soul. I’ve had to make some small modifications to some of the more physical activities that I normally use in some of my sessions but that’s a small price to pay to be back doing in-person facilitation.
I know how fortunate I am to love what I do and to live my passion! In this post I’d like to discuss conflict resolution and leadership. While I was gathering content, I came across a beautiful poem that I first heard when I did my EQ certification many years ago with Jayne Morrison of Six Seconds, and I recalled how it made me feel then and today when I read it again. It had the same power to not only move me, but to appreciate so many things and to look inside myself.
After a hugely challenging 2020 and 2021 – and with unknown challenges still to come – I want to share this poem with you by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. It’s called ‘The Invitation’. Take a quiet moment to read it and really listen to the message as well as the questions it raises …
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it’s not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
This poem offers an invitation to every single one of us to show up in the universe. The author reminds us that we do not serve the universe by being small. Rather, we serve the universe by making the most out of our lives.
People are having to dig deeper than ever before to not only survive but to really live, and many social connections may have been lost but I have also witnessed deeper connections forming and unbreakable bonds of people truly connecting. To really connect and form enduring relationships, we first need to know ourselves, then decide if we like what we see, to have the courage to change what we don’t like, and be brave enough to be authentic and true to ourselves without wearing a mask to please others.
People have an innate need to feel valued and respected but I also believe that there is a huge need to be seen and understood as more than just an employee, a manager, a father, a wife, etc. We need to be seen for so much more than the roles we fulfill. We need to be appreciated for who we really are, for the values that we embody, for what we stand for, for our failures, our successes, our fears and our dreams.
Relationships are based on four principles: respect, understanding, acceptance, and appreciation. Mahatma Gandhi
When last did you have a meaningful conversation with a friend, colleague, spouse, child about what really matters to them and to you? I challenge you to try this and please feel free to share your thoughts with us. I would love to hear if there are any topics that you would like to see in future articles.