The cohort experience aims to create a close knit community. Maintaining that community means a making a commitment to the time together based on mutual respect and trust. A circle of trust isn’t made because we call it one.
For many of us, the time we spend in the Inner Life of Teaching & Leadership cohort is enough. Participants have consistently named the value of giving ourselves the gift of doing just one thing, even if it is only for a couple of hours monthly.
However, with time, some are interested in going further, expanding the circle, and continuing the conversation – while still upholding the principles, practices, and touchstones, in particular, not making this one more thing to “get done” or slipping into overwhelm. As such, expanding the circle is by invitation, and may not be for everyone.
Some ways to move beyond the monthly circle to continue to foster self-care and inner work…
Pull out our notes, poems, prose and other ‘third things’ in between our sessions, to see if any insights have deepened since initial reflection.
Find a consistent time to pause, sit in silence, or take a walk on our beautiful campus, even if it’s just for 10 minutes.
Review the touchstones, principles and practices – sit and reflect with them – and then have a conversation with others about one or more of them.
Meet in between sessions with a reflection partner to explore some of our themes and questions a little further. It could be someone in the cohort – or perhaps you share a piece from our session with another colleague and simply take a walk together to talk about one of our themes. It could be as simple as discussing a question or two: Where do I find scarcity and awareness of limits in my life and work? In what ways do I fall into “scarcity” thinking? Where do I find abundance in my life/work?
Our participants have mentioned the impact of physical space on our work place mood and attitude. Even if we don’t have a formal central place for courage inspired work, you may wish to reflect on those places on this beautiful campus that inspire reflection and help you hit the pause button.
Some ways to foster “courage inspired” reflection and collegial conversations…
Understanding that depending on your work place, discretion is surely a consideration, post a quote or other short “grace note” from the newsprint in our sessions in your office or on your door – you never know who it will impact. Participants have named some surprising conversations that have unfolded from doing so.
Practice asking open and honest questions in other settings. Share the practices with others. Offer the opportunity to listen to a colleague who may be struggling with a decision, discernment or transition, letting them know that there will be no “fixing, advising, saving, or correcting.”
Take what we do together, and in between sessions, engage with others with that same intentionality. Perhaps lead one of our sessions with students, friends, family members, colleagues. One of our cohort members has set the intention to engage in the same questions and themes, essentially re-creating our session, after each session with her students.
Instead of beginning a meeting in the usual manner, begin with a suitable and appropriate poem for the context. You might ask a reflective question before you begin. A sprinkling of favorites for the work place: Contract: A Word from the Led, by William Ayot; Hope, by Victoria Safford; Two Kinds of Intelligence, by Rumi; Open Mind, by David Whyte; Fresh or Gate 4A, by Naomi Shihab Nye;
Consider welcoming people to committees in ways that might acknowledge their humanity instead of their pedigree. “I would invite you to introduce yourself today by telling us your name and offering a recollection about what it is that first captured your excitement about our discipline…”
Read a book which takes you further. There are several by Parker Palmer which undergird courage & renewal, and of course, you can find many others. Should you decide to engage others in a ‘book group’ type format, we might offer a cautionary word: those kinds of groups can quickly collapse into a very cerebral, academic, critical perspective in which participants are eager to ‘share what they know,’ and that very quickly loses the flavor of the touchstones. We encourage you to hold this tension and offer and ‘trust hold’ the touchstones.
Use the touchstones to guide difficult dialogue. A colleague at the University of Iowa who has engaged in significant courage-inspired research has adapted the touchstones for consideration while reading, participating in discussions, and reflecting on power and privilege.