Values I bring to this work
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‘A new world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing’ - Arundhati Roy
Curiosity is about listening for what is trying to emerge - in a group process, in a person’s process, in the collective understanding. Curiosity invites holding judgement lightly while we look under the surface of things to find their roots and follow their trails.
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‘To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is travelled by dark feet and dark wings.’
- Wendell Berry
Clarity is about distilling what is being shared, succinctly, This involves mirroring back what is heard, a dynamic that is playing out, a vision that is trying to be articulated. Offering back to a person or group something I have heard with clarity can support the process to move.
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‘Staying with the trouble means making oddkin; that is, we require each other in unexpected collaborations and combinations, in hot compost piles. We become - with each other or not at all’ - Donna Haraway
Staying with the trouble invites us to notice what is troubling - where discomfort shows up, where the unexpected emerges, where there is tension or disagreement. Staying with the trouble, rather than avoiding or rushing past it, enables the group or person to see what is wanting to emerge. This is always done through invitation and with consent when I work.
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‘The body learns on yes’ - Staci K. Haines
Change and transformation happen through the feeling of ‘yes’ towards something we want, ways we want to be, ways we’d like to feel. I invite a move towards what feels good to support this learning and transformation within processes to support us and our systems to change where and when we want to.description -
‘I think the most revolutionary thing is to understand that there are going to be many ways to move forward and not just one. And that requires being able to hold contradictions’ - adrienne maree brown
In the work of social change, there are always contradictions. Whether facilitating a group discussion, holding an experiential learning process or mentoring someone 1-2-1, noticing, reflecting back and holding contradictions is part of the work to make space and expand what is possible.