Art of Hosting - 3 days of joy and willing discomfort!
Julie Lyford
Art of Hosting training participant, Sunshine Coast February 2021 Oh my. 930pm at Newcastle Airport. A darkening blue-black sky, like armageddon and the face mask is hot, steaming up my glasses! Monsoonal rain washes the tarmac as we line up, all here for another life journey to somewhere. Me? I’m off to Noosa for an Art of Hosting workshop. Not sure what to expect, except I know I will meet new folks and learn something new. The unexpected is always exciting. Drat. 10 mins to go and flight cancelled……the brilliant Debbie from Next Economy sorts it out in 10 mins flat……7am flight tomorrow…pick up from Brisbane airport - will only miss an hour of the workshop. Hmmmm. Often the first hour is magic. i heard from others that it was. Flustered and with arms full of notebooks, water flask and everything but the kitchen sink, we arrived to the circle of acceptance and feeling an already quietly, strong bond forming from the circle of energy. Sit down. Be invisible. Oh dear….I am going to have to speak…….as the paraphernalia falls onto the floor and no one seems to notice… How refreshing to know people introduced themselves in their first language. must tell our JEDI team about that! “Daffodils face the sun and track the energy as the sun moves around the day. They face each other when the sun isn’t shining.” My heart starts to sing. Who are these incredible teachers and participants - in under an hour I understood why the flow in my life had led me here. I needed all of this. I wanted to hug them all……what makes your heart sing?? What a beautiful question. “What becomes possible when we turn towards each other and act together?” Light bulbs continued to go off over the three days. Little skips of joy as the teachings resonated through us all. AH yes moments. Storytelling trios - deeply powerful listening with attention, respect and what did I see? People caring and engaging purposefully and with honesty. Faces changing. Smilies of joy, soft faces of concern and sadness. The changes between the storyteller, the listener and the witness. It still sits with me weeks later. A privilege to have experienced. “The gift in the wound” - acceptance, understanding, forgiveness and love. Reflections Day 1 - as above, with seeds of hope - where do they fall? Why do some flourish and grow and produce…others provide nourishment to the soil and food gatherers
We have come together with trust and honesty, respect and an open mind and heart - listening, witnessing, reflecting and sharing. We are encouraged by, empowered by, valued, given space and privacy to contribute as we wish and are emboldened to. The courage to be. Love the word Voluntold! Volunteered under direction :):). Sit in the discomfort - oh how that resonated with everyone - the knowing smiles of recognition reverberated around the room with that statement. Follow the Chaordic path! Harvesting. Simplicity and depth. Always use well what you harvest - tend to the relationships - Australia reMADE did this so well….and now the nine pillars we are adopting for our Gloucester Transitions Inc new group…..cant wait to get back and expose all of these learnings if I can! Making sense together and feeding the knowledge gained collaboratively forward. How do I become more inclusive and reflective/purposeful in my board and community roles? Love the harvest and the possibilities. Ripples on the pond - you don’t need to know where everything lands - just to know it is happening is enough :) Oh dear. Why on earth did I put my name down for being a host!!! AH …..loved it even though I felt like I was five again! Fully supported by Tracey - great experience. Pre-sensing - needing to really undo my ego and be more conscious. What is already there in the room. How are people feeling? Step up with courage. Be curious. Co-creation - committed to learning personally and as a community - love that. Trust the space, trust the people. Offer clarity and ability to shift, know when not to intervene. Stewardship with intention in holding the space, the integrity and DNA of AOH. There are many things we cannot control. If your cup is full, the overflow is for giving to others. What is in the cup is for yourself. If your cup is empty there is nothing to give or share. You cannot give to others what you do not have yourself. Light bulb for everyone again - “Curiosity and Judgment cannot sit together” - Ahhhh. World Cafe. We’ve all done this…some tired minds arrived at my host table as we did the rounds. Others were keen to get into the question. I noticed the tired minds become re-energised and re-engage…….contributions flowed with generosity and deep engagement. “what time is it in the world?”……..loving this stuff!!!!!! loving the friendships and unspoken bonds of recognition and high regard everyone holds for each other as we dance from table to question. Energy is being generated. The team effortlessly blend in, guide, support. they must be exhausted by 5pm!! And later with the guidance lessons!
I keep looking to the drawings of the sunflowers. They make me smile deeply. We are all sunflowers tracking the sun together. Supporting, listening, harvesting, sharing energy, joy and the future. What are our challenges as we face the hurdles and excitement of life before us? Some of us plan, some of us procrastinate. All of us are doing - in our own way. What an immense privilege to be in this room. To be immersed in this space. To be fully present with the wonderful humans who are here. Teaching. Sharing. Learning. Advocating. Loving the very act of hosting each other in a safe and caring arena. So much more complexity with journaling, CYNEFIN, and the voice of judgement resonates within me. Stop the Imposter Syndrome. Embrace everything that makes us all that we are. Chaos and complexity - cause and effect can only be seen in hindsight. This is the space of participatory process - this is the place of expertise. We all have only a sliver of knowledge - we need each other to build the picture. Where do we need an expert? So much to learn!!! Laughter when Jane explains the WAIT principle - Why AM I Talking!!! (Note to self - write that for myself at the top of every meeting agenda!!) - Open space, circle work - moving from social space to sacred space. If we lived in a circle we would live happier lives, we are all spokes in the wheel…the centre is where things go. Resonance seems to be the prevailing energy in the room - you could light up a small village with everyone’s AHA! moments……..collective power creates a balance of power that honours community decisions. How you show up, matters. Every day the Art of Hosting Team were organised and artful, quietly displaying their deep integrity, compassion, professionalism and wonderful facilitation skills. Punctual, teaching such a diverse group of willing souls with candour, wit, respect and at times learners themselves, the team's ability to build the experience by layering each lesson on top of the other drew us all in to participate in ways that would not have been possible on the first morning. We trusted each other. We laughed with each other. We shared. We gave. We learnt and grew. “The art of getting good shit done”. Time is of the essence now. We all know. The silence and honour of the circle. 8 breaths pattern resonates deeply with many. Slow down to go fast. Yep. What is going on with us personally is also going on in our communities, organisations, society and the world. Step up. Care for each other. As you build the new, care for the old. Yep. Acknowledgement needs to be a high priority - what went before is the valuable bedrock to build on. Build the bridge of connection. The AOH team was doing that the whole time. People swapping connection details, wanting to visit - share each other work and wisdom. The dying system provides the infrastructure for the new and emerging system. Maori song in language reverberates through the room - such beautiful diversity and cultural richness in our circle. Overwhelming emotional responses flickered on many faces as such meaningful and brave gifts arrived unannounced throughout the three days. What can I say? My life has been enriched by The Art of Hosting team workshop. In beautiful tropical Noosa, before I arrived at the circle of friends I thought I would have lots of time to luxuriate in the beautiful pool and ocean. Instead, I was fully immersed in the luxury of an incredible Art of Hosting experience.. One quick dip at 9.05pm in the blue-green oasis outside our room - floating on my back and looking up at the full moon and stars as the clouds billowed away in the soft evening breeze. Floating, alone and supported by the cool water - I am feeling deep gratitude and remembering my first year in Australia as an 18 year old migrant, travelling with other life travellers in a dusty un-airconditioned bus. Camped at the beautiful Mataranka Springs. It was 1975 - and I was alone, floating on my back in this Northern Territory warm blue-green oasis, looking up at the full moon and stars, the clouds somewhere else. Who knew what life had in store? How lucky am I to be here, floating and reflecting in 2021. Learning. receiving. Gratitude. Oh dear. So many gathered AOH papers, items and memories…..overweight suitcase, an on-time flight - and my cup runneth over. |