“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.
My ask is openness to such synchronicity. My offer is attention (to see it), celebration (of what it is), and courage (to act from there). Thx Cathy. Glad for it.