Maria Popova's newsletter (recently renamed ‘The Marginalian') brings to my iPad every week the most exquisite writing in easily digestible morsels. This quote by Joan Didion in a recent newsletter made me hesitate:

 

“I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us….”

 

These words make a connection to the inner transitionary shifts I have noticed in my way of being as we travelled through the various stages of the pandemic. Sometimes the changes were decisive and dramatic requiring an immediate response, as in the need to rapidly up-skill in online facilitation; while others have been more meanderingly deceptive. Others still have been joyful and enriching.

  A recurring theme on social media as we journey through the Pandemic lockdown is a renewed sense of connection and wonderment with the natural world. While fear and anxiety simmer under the surface, the joy of spring transitioning into summer has the potential to soften the impact. Without the usual distractions many of us have found ourselves connecting with nature in a different way. The burgeoning of new life brings hope. Confirmation, that despite the interruption in our lives, the natural world is unfolding as it should. A reassuring reminder that, as with the changing of the seasons, this pandemic will pass.   The Systemic Principles Embodied in Nature Principles of natural order maintain coherence and support flow in living systems. These principles – time (who or what came first), place (our belonging in a system) and the balance of exchange (reciprocity) – were first described by Bert Hellinger, the father...

  Reviewing the year with two work friends this morning I reflected that January 1st heralds not only the start of a new year but a whole new decade.     As we hover at the intersection between the decades my thoughts stretch back over the past 10 years. I’m struck by how much has changed on many different levels during that time. Perhaps the most significant change for me personally has been launching a second career as a coach, facilitator and trainer helping people navigate complex organisational change.   One of the highlights in shaping my offering has undoubtedly been training as a systemic coach and facilitator. For that my gratitude goes to John Whittington for his inspirational writing and training programmes in this remarkable approach.   Like many in the autumn of their careers I often wish I had had access to this deeper knowledge about systems and the...