Thoughts for the New Year (2) - Humility, Reverence and Deep Listening

In the last newsletter of 2022 , I shared about the innate resilience that is discovered in the face of challenge and loss. Those challenges and losses find me more humble at the start of this new year, more in awe of the forces of nature and my own small role in it, and more ready to listen to what this world would ask of me.?

I realise how much richness comes from asking and living the questions rather than 'merely' finding answers. Some questions that have both plagued and prompted me include:

• Why am I here? What is the purpose in life??What's being asked of me in response?
• There must be a better way than this?
• How do I make time for the really important things?
• There's so much information bombarding me, what do I pay attention to?
• Why does this lurking doubt and dissatisfaction come from??
• How do I/we get unstuck from certain habit/relationship patterns??
• How do I renew and recharge to face the challenges and opportunities ahead of me??
• How do we heal and recover in a world full of pain and struggle??
• Where and how can I learn to tap into the strengths and resources around me? Who can I learn with and from??
• Am I alone in all this??

These are not easy questions, maybe we find ourselves wanting to turn away or stop reading...?

Pause here with me for a moment?

This is that first doorway to humility, where you find Courage standing right alongside, enabling us to stand tall, asking us to listen.?

Standing at this doorway of open questions, humbled into a spirit of deep listening, this guides us to act from wisdom and deep responsiveness.?

Here's what I've learnt to far...?

• Listening in itself can be the answer - in the practice of listening (to myself, to others, to the world around me), I make time, discover wisdom, renew and recharge, find strength and courage, solidarity and connection. We finally receive the signal beyond the noise of thinking and confusion when we 'pause' in the shower, or on a walk, or in a casual conversation. Listen.?
• Approach with Reverence - reverence means to regard with deep respect. It doesn't have to be religious. To me, it means taking the upmost care of this life I am given. To appreciate the moments, the people, the conditions and resources available to me. It also carries that sense of humility, that I am asked to play my part, to utilise what I am given without overreach or overestimation of my place or power.??
• "The pace of nature is slow"... so too, is the unfolding of truth and wisdom. Many of these questions have been percolating for years and like nature, my understanding continues to evolve. In my clear moments, I might remember to simply live this life, rather than imagine that there is a final answer to how or why.?

So these questions are reminders to wake up, so our eyes are open to see, our bodies and hearts ready to act when the answers show themselves in good time.?

2023 shall be a year in which I continue to Listen Deeply. Will you join me?

• In February, I'll be co-facilitating a program called Real Leadership for a Complex World with Brian Henderson (he/him) which offers tools and practices that will help leaders live the questions and listen deeply in response to a world in great need.?
• Coaching is a container within which deep listening can happen so we can distinguish signal from noise - book an introductory session now to learn if this can help you!
• And perhaps what you might?benefit from is Mindfulness and meditation? Mindfulness practice is the foundation of awareness - learning to pause as the world spins round so that our bodies, hearts and minds get much needed rest and calm. A great support and pre-requisite for listening deeply, and for restoring our well-being and presence! Get in touch with me to find out more.?
• A website update is underway to make free resources more easily accessible for you. Listening deeply to what is needed!! :)

Kung Hey Fatt Choy to all those who celebrate the Chinese/Lunar New Year. May you have a year of health, wisdom and deep listening to yourself and others ahead! I hope to hear and connect with many of you soon.