I So Love a Vista

Those are parts of the Wasatch Mountains. In Utah County, near where I live. I love the heavy snow contrasted with blue skies of Spring. The peaks near 12,000 feet. The valley itself is 4,500 feet. We are high desert valley.

Vista’s compel vision. It’s connected to some other deep learning that has come to me over the last few weeks. It is how the simple lives in relationship with the complex.

The simple of a vista such as this is beauty. Expansiveness. The simple offers a purpose. Or a feeling. Something that remains still while many parts move.

The complex — well, that’s real too. In the above, that’s the overflow of Utah Lake that feeds marsh. And that floods a few nearby dried farmer fields.

With the group I worked with last week, we held simple story. “We are here to connect and to learn together — to explore and contribute our gifts as a cohort of leaders for the betterment of ourselves and those who we work with.” That simplicity matters.

But so does the complex. “The differences among us. The selective attention. The variation of preference and style. The urgency we face. The fatigue we endure.”

Things go so easily wrong when the simple is missing, and, when the ability to be in the complex is missing or denied. Or when the complex obfuscates the already existing yet unnamed simple.

These are patterns. In the everyday. In so many communities of work.

Yup, learning. Nuancing. Enjoying vista. And some of the scratchy complexities that goes with it.

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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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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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