Over the past few days, I have enjoyed countless conversations with friends and coaching clients. There are common themes that bind them together. As today begins, I reflect on how we share our lives and support each other as we navigate our journeys together and apart. In each case, we appear to have heard and listened to the note left by an earlier generation; “If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back.” (Hebrews 10.34)
The lessons I am looking to carry with me include the following.
Our conversations are safe places. In agreement and accountability, in laughter and sadness, we can share our minds without judgment or fear of what might follow. We honour our confidences and protect sensitive Words. Our collaboration is built on active cheering, sharing, and support roles.
Our dialogue is candid, hopeful, and empathetic. In listening to understand, I think of moments when blunt truths were shared, empathy revealed itself, and hope emerged. Laughter was a frequent guess. I knew I was being heard with a sense of unconditional acceptance of where I was. When others shared, it was as if each conversation was being lighted to a higher place of understanding and possibilities.
Together, we are more than any one of us. I remember the lingering echo of sitting under a ceiling where shared ideation was illustrated and celebrated. I have experienced how conversations and relationships can give birth to new ideas and opportunities. Looking forward, I will thrive and grow the most in communities of acceptance and belonging, kindness and care, openness and growth.
Today is an opportunity to take these lessons and do something with them. I am quietly hopeful and resolved. My journey to making a difference begins with the individuals I meet and the moments I share. The calling and doorways are here. My role is to step into the breach and act.
