The Complex and The Menial

My friend has been chopping wood. This is the part stacked in the field near his home. It will get moved to another stack to keep it dry. And will be chopped to further small pieces to work with his wood-burning fireplace that will keep his place warm in the coming cold of fall and winter.

I find myself speaking a couple of simultaneous narratives lately. For the work in organizations. One is the chop wood story. It’s the jobs and tasks that we do that are a bit more tasky. The must be done jobs. The sustainence things.

The other narrative is the bigger human story. Sometimes the cosmic story. Who we are as human beings and how that is evolving and changing as individuals and as communities.

The bigger story gives context to the day to day. The day to day helps give us room to ponder the bigger.

I like speaking both of these. It’s invitation to stay in the involvedness that I would suggest is an essential attention level these days. It’s invitation to grow skill at being in the complex, not just the menial. The non-linear, not just the linear. The aspirational, not just the obligatory.

Ah, life. In these many domains that all of us live. Sometimes it’s chopping wood. Sometimes it’s figuring out how to be in relationship with the whole, ever-changing forest.

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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