Posted on by Tenneson Woolf

I Am The Themes I’m Living

I am the themes I’m living. I am those thoughts. I am those breaths. I am those questions. I am those buckets.

I have three themes that are quite organizing me these days. They come out in my words. I’m welcoming these themes to clarify me. And to clarify what I do. Maybe these connect to your themes.

Theme 1 — Little Things That Are Big Things

Like meeting together more spaciously. Like asking questions together. Like learning to listen. Like choosing joy, appreciation, and curiosity. Like acknowledging shortcomings, fears, and sorrows. Like remembering we are not alone. I relate to the simple naming of being better humans. On our own. Together with others. Small thing that is a big thing.

Theme 2 — Connection, Courage, Compassionate Action.

This is the subtitle to Gifts of Circle. I wrote the book. Now the book, this subtitle, is writing me. Connection is the model. It is the priority. It is the glue. When we are together, whatever our cause is, connection must be the work. From connection, courage can grow. From connect, compassion can also become pattern. Connection, courage, compassionate action — they seem like small things. These are the big things, the needed things. Everywhere.

Theme 3 — Becoming & Belonging

I’ve been a facilitator for 30 years now. I’ve worked with many groups in many fields of professional and personal practice. There will always be important outcomes that don’t include the words “becoming and belonging.” But I’ve learned that these yearnings always live nearby any stated outcomes. They are the good soil that so many wish for. Becoming is a sense of purpose. Becoming you. Becoming me. You and me in this community. Becoming community. Belonging, well its that feeling of undeniable place in the world, in the community, in the neighborhood. It is belonging to life, receiving its energy, sharing its energy.

Yup. Three themes. I am my name, John Tenneson Woolf. We all are. Good. But sometimes, the nuance to our names is the huddle of themes. We humans, we are what we stay curious about. We are what we explore and harvest.

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Gifts of Circle - Question Cardsasd
Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."

Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.

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In My Nature is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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Most Mornings is a collection of 37 poems. I loved writing them. From the introduction: "This collection of poems comes from some of my sense-making that so often happens in the morning, nurtured by overnight sleep. The poems sample practices. They sample learnings. They sample insights and discoveries. They sample dilemmas and concerns."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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