Courage to Lead

Rachel and I spent a few days this past week in Michigan at a retreat put on by the Center for Courage & Renewal.  The workshop was held at the Fetzer Institue near Kalamazoo – an amazing place of beauty and solace formed by the vision of a man who felt called to create a place that would nurture spiritual wholeness, John Fetzer.  It was a truly singular experience in which we participated in communal and individual activities that were designed to help foster personal and professional renewal and allowed us to expand our ability to listen, be present and build trustworthy relationships. 

The workshop was led by Parker J. Palmer, an author, activist and educator.  Parker is the senior advisor to the Center for Courage and Renewal (which is co-directed by Rick and Marcy Jackson) and has contributed a significant body of knowledge and experience to the understanding of what he calls “soul and role.” The purpose of the workshop was to deepen each individual’s sense of purpose and meaning in a way that allowed them to find the courage to live authentically.  This is how Parker Palmer puts it:

“Is this person the same on the inside as he or she seems to be on the outside?  Children ask this about their parents, students about their teachers, employees about their supervisors, patients about their physicians, and citizens about their political leaders.  When the answer is yes, we relax, believing that we are in the presence of integrity and feeling secure enough to invest ourselves in the relationship and all that surrounds it.”

We’ve had alot of conversations around Broadway about connections and relationships.  We’ve talked about listening to hear each others dreams and passions.  For me these have been tremendously helpful in encourageing me to be present and deliberate in my interaction with others.  But I think my experience at this workshop has opened my eyes to another dimension that I don’t think I had fully explored.  That is the awareness that when I strive to understand myself and trust my inner teacher, I am better equipped to form more genuine and meaningful relationships. 

There are alot of ways of going about this inner examination.  Rachel suggested one last month in her Tower Chimes reflection, Clearness Committees, and there is a link to a description of Clearness Committees written by Parker Palmer on the Broadway website home page.  However, no matter what method one feels comfortable with, I would like to encourage everyone to try to devote some time to a little bit of self reflection.  Besides the sense of peace that usually accompanies this inner journey, I think it also can have a positive impact on how we interact with each other and help us continue to live out our individual callings and mission with a greater degree of authenticity.