I watched it lift off him
It was a hot evening. My husband had had a tough day and we decided to go for a walk and a swim in the lake.
He waded in, stopped knee deep, and said: I don't know that I want to. My mind is too noisy.
Then the cold water hit. And just for a moment, I saw it before my eyes... something lifted.
He didn't decide to feel better. The water just cut through what he'd been carrying.
This feeling was all too familiar to me this week. I work across projects with many people in the mix and you want it to go well. You turn it over. You think about all the things you could be doing differently. Whether you're doing enough.
And then the day comes when you're in the room with those people, and you stop managing it for a second, and you watch. You see how people show up for one another, listen intently, and you think: oh. This is enough. I just needed to get out of my own way long enough to see what was right in front of me.
That's the part I keep relearning. You can give people the scaffolding but you can't climb it for them. The same is true for me. Noticing your patterns and then interrupting it with your chosen move is the most powerful thing you can do.
From my experience, presence doesn't come from thinking harder about it. Something has to interrupt you first. It's not really a concept but as something you normally feel in your body to remember it's even possible.
What's coming up next month?
On the 9th of July, 2-3pm Central European Summer Time (CEST), we'll be running a session in Purposeful Futures community on exactly this.
If you've been here a while, you'll know that I co-founded this space with Aga Pociecha for purpose-driven people to have somewhere to discuss things we tend not to at work and certainly not on LinkedIn.
SO! We're going outside. Different people, all dialling in from different locations away from their desks. And we're going to use that hour to slow down, tune in, and reconnect with what it feels like to actually be here. In nature.
If part of you reads this and thinks: I need that. Then come.
The cold water will find you eventually. It's just nicer when you choose it.
With you,
Linda
Founder of Touching Distance
