“Ask for what you need; offer what you can.”
It’s one of the oldest principles I know, first learned from Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea in the late 1990s. It was offered then in the context of creating healthy and affirming circles.
Well, jeepers. I keep learning new layers of this, including this week working with University Leadership.
“What I need” has layers. There’s an intuitive layer. There’s a gut knowing. There’s a mind knowing. “What I need” is sometimes something I don’t know. Or am a bit afraid to know, but come to discover in the company of peers, colleagues, and loved ones.
“Offer what I can” also has layers. The simple and the complex. The quiet and the loud. But I want to stay simple. Does it bring life for others or for me? Does it contribute life to peoples in shared endeavor? Does it feel right in the moment — mine so often is belly insights.
It’s such basic guidance. Yet, I’ve been learning layers of it now for 25 years. And yesterday, in Leading at MacEwan, I loved the way it looked on the wall next to this bouquet of flowers.
🙂
I love synchronicity. I was sitting in a Circle yesterday and shared this wisdom. Now I have layers to add to the wisdom. Thank you.