Going Deeper

I love the way that many of us are going deeper these days. Some of the “us” that I’m referencing are dear colleagues from over many of the last years and decades. Some of the “us” that I’m referencing are dear loved ones in renewed paths of learning and discovery.

With colleagues, I’m glad that many of us are seeking to integrate more of what we’ve learned in how we work with groups. For me, much of that has been about cultivating rich inner capacity — emotional intelligence, humility, creativity — and, rich outer capacity — working with even more honed simplicity, clarity of purpose, and courage in narrative.

With dear loved ones (some of whom are colleagues), I’m glad for the many of us that are seeking paths of grace, of patience, and of celebratory newness. Again, it’s inner capacity meeting outer capacity. It’s further leaning in to each others stories, and, the way that we find our own stories in the sharing with others.

Later today I’m headed to a particular path and place of going deeper. It’s Soultime, the men’s group that I’ve been meeting with over the last 15 years. This time it’s on Texada Island in British Columbia. There will be 10 of us. We’ll meet to share personal experiences. We’ll meet largely in the format of circle. We’ll ask questions together. We’ll follow a story together (Grimms’ Tales). We’ll create a ritual together. We’ll cook together. We’ll sing together. We’ll share poems together. We’ll unpack what shows up — not as professional therapists (although one of the participants is), but rather as men discovering and practicing a more matured masculinity together. It’s a small drop in the great ocean of need in such domain. Yet, I’ve known Soultime as a very important integration in who I’ve become as a teacher, a writer, a facilitator, and as a dad, a son, a partner, a community member.

So, ya. Going deeper. I’m glad for depth that follows me into hosting groups, and into evolving as human beings together. I’m glad for the instincts in many of us to go deeper, because we can and because we can’t not. I’m glad for the simplicity. I’m glad for a flow that is both deliberately followed, and, is carrying many of us, into the deep.