For International Women’s Day this year, Lianne Raymond published a labour of love. What is Dying to be Born is a collection of short pieces of writing and small pieces of art from 30 women. Each little piece is a reflection on a theme, like goodness and compassion and renewal. My favourite piece I think is the one from Danielle LaPorte on the theme of “Genius Heart.” In it she offers a little prose poem that includes these lines:
Thee beauty of our DNA is dying to be born: an acceptance of the order of chaos; the reverence of High Priestesses in the grocery store; the force of incredibly tender men; the critical necessity of senses that transcend technology.
We can speed the dying (it can hurt.) Karate-chop greed. Puncture silicon. Carve up pretense and principles too small for how big we really are. Let the heart make the way — she will anyhow, by plow or by whisper, by angst or by grace.
That is just a very touching piece of writing, and it gives me some thought for a lyric. In fact this collection is a whole trove of inspirations for songs I haven’t yet written, and in the spirit of Lianne’s offering, who was in turn inspired by Toni Morrison’s call to write the book you want to read, I may well take some of these lines for songs that say what I have been trying to say for a while in my music.
The book is free, and it is lovely. It looks great on the page and the writing is a diverse collection. Each of the contributors is linked through to their site or to other places you can find out more about them. But importantly, Lianne and her co-conspirators have made this a gift to all, as so much of women’s wisdom is offered to those that pause long enough to ask for it.
So go download the book and post the quote or image on your blog that most grabs you from the collection. I’m officially starting an internet meme here :-).
Thanks again Lianne.
A short poem from Edwin Markham, called “Outwitted”:
He drew a circle that shut me out –
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.
Hat tip to my friend Janie Leask in Alaska, who posted this on her facebook wall.
From a man I have long loved and admired, Chief Robert Joseph, who spoke these words on receiving an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of British Columbia in 2003. He is a leader in advocating for the rights and dignity of residential school survivors and a deep and passionate advocate of the work many many people are doing to decolonize the child welfare system here in British Columbia. Here is some very good advice from him:
I have traveled far and climbed many mountains in my life’s journey. I have seen the darkness of my own abyss. From the depths of my utter despair and hopelessness I saw a miraculous vision. Through this vision I have seen the universe, one whole, one connectedness, one balance!
As I stood in awe of the wonder in my own supernatural moment, I came to know my place and part in this timeless symphony of life and creation. Before that, I was forced to relinquish my own reality for a while. I was taught to dismiss all that was prior to the coming of the first settlers. It was too high a price to exact for my education, for anyone’s education.
I say to all you graduates beware that the price of your education does not become too high. Be true to yourselves. Maintain that balance between heart and soul and do not give away to intelligence only. Do not ever lose sight of who you are, for it is a gift from the creator that will lead you to your higher purpose. Do not give way to racism and intolerance. Do not give way to ignorance and apathy. Hold true to the creed that all persons are born equal and deserve dignity and respect. The quality of life for many may depend on you. Go and make a difference. The whole world waits for you.
via Chief Robert Joseph Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society.
In BC we are blessed to have Elders whose message, teachings and ability to hold compassion and promote peace rivals the Dalai Lama. So few British Columbians know about these Elders but they are national treasures. Bobby Joseph is one of these people.
The view from the Rockefeller Foundation meeting room, looking south towards the Empire State Building. Today I worked in this location with friends Willie Toliver and Kelly McGowan supporting the work of a group of executive leaders in the New York City municapl administration. I was struck by how, despite the responsibility and magnitude of influence these people have, that they are nonetheless human beings – vulnerable, falliable and authentic as the rest of us.
Here is the poem that was created from the checkout.
We are just poor weak human beings,
Resisting the call
Because we cease and desist
our belief in all we can offer
Somehow we have created
single places upon which everything hinges
and when we are put in those spaces
we confront our smallness, see it in
perspective because none of us are
big enough to be the change others expect
and we have long stopped fooling ourselves.
To confront our own smallness is terrifying
especially when people project bigness on us –
the scale of challenge, the scope of our capability.
The I we are through other people’s eyes
is never the me we see through our own.
Know this – you have been chosen only to live.
It is never over until you leave.
the only line you ever cross
is the one you choose to draw..
Father Brian, Photo by Peggy Holman
The Open Space community has lost one of it’s stalwart elders, Father Brian Bainbridge, a Catholic priest and corporate consultant from Melbourne, Australia. Brian was a dear friend and colleague and offered much to the shape and form of Open Space although his contributions were quiet and behind the scenes. He trained and taught many, many Australian Open Space facilitators, wrote an informally published ebook about his experiences creating and Open Space organization in his parish and was a stalwart for the integrity of the process, curious in the multiple ways self-organization and complex adaptive systems could work. Today on the OSLIST I shared my own recollections of Brian:
Ah.
What a blessing it was to know and be loved by Brian…a man absolutely generous in his equanimity, achingly funny and self-deprecating and absolutely committed to the integrity and effectiveness of Open Space. I have several audio recordings of conversations I spent with him over the years. If I can find them and clean them up, perhaps I’ll get them uploaded somewhere.
As far as I know one of Brian’s enduring legacies to the Open Space community was the coinage of the unofficial fifth principle: Be Prepared to Be Surprised. Perhaps others can concur, but I always associated him strongly with that principle. And in his death he surprised us all! All I can think of is his mischievous smile and quiet bubbling chuckle.
The other phrase that entered my vocabulary from Brian was “It’s all good.” And indeed I notice that today his death has given me a chance to revisit my feelings of tenderness and admiration and love for him, to connect with people in the OS world I haven’t head from for a while and generally spend some time in my virtual home.
My favourite Brian story, a story he told me: Once when working with a group of Australian IBM managers he listened patiently while they told him of their struggles working so far away from headquarters in an extremely hierarchical structure with an almost dogmatic approach to things. Brian listened sympathetically for a while and then made the incisive observation: “You call yourselves Big Blue. Well, Catholic priests have suffered this same management challenge for 1500 years and ore. Call us Big Black.”
My family is finally travelling to Melbourne in May to do some work with Viv McWaters and Anne Patillo and Geoff Brown and Johnnie Moore and we were really looking forward to seeing Brian in his own place. Alas, we won’t have that chance now, but you can bet when we open space together Brian will be invoked and I will relish the chance to raise a glass and tell some stories about our patron Father, our mentor, teacher and friend.