The Sunday Note (TSN) from MGM (Montgomery, AL) is an email to share MY reflective practice with you... and invite YOU to share your reflections with friends and family...hit reply, let me know how you are!

V.3 N.40 Be the reason people do the work

Days 1,029-1,043

Dear ,

It's 2022. 

So far this year, I've woken up twice and haven't worked out once. Yesterday, (1) I spent a couple of extra hours with my little sister, (2) saw some family friends, and (3) got to dream with Jodi about my upcoming 50th birthday extravaganza. (Mark your calendars for mid-April. We'll be in California; if you're nearby, let us know!)

By now, you know I'm not a big "New Years' resolution" guy. Instead, I chip away at things all year long; been doin' that for a while now. 

I'm not the kind of person who likes to "save-it-all-up-for-one-day," either. Instead, I am more a fan of the "think-it-and-then-write-it-and-then-think-ABOUT-it-and-then-later-on-decide-what-to-do-because-of-it-so-that-something-happens" approach.

Apparently, the literature has termed it "delayed gratification." Putting off something that is right now in favor of seeing what happen relative to it (whatever "it" is) later. Over the past decade or so, I've done the "shuttle run" between pushing the boulder uphill or allowing what's to be to be. Too many times I thought something SHOULD happen or that if I just worked a little harder (what do they call it, "get out of the comfort zone") I'd get the result I thought I deserved. As I age, I'm becoming a little less impatient and a whole lot more forgiving. 

I'm fascinated by the space/time/room between stimulus and response. The gap that exists if I slow down. This is what I practice. What I am better at now than I used to be. What I believe separates the good from the great. 

This week, I'll teach a lesson at Maxwell, do an advance-site visit at Barksdale, and lead an off-site for a group of friends at Andrews. 

My intention for all of it is to:

• Hear the unheard
• See the unseen
• Feel the unfelt

Nope, I don't want to be the source of information. Instead, I want to be the reason people do the work. I want to be the one in the room where things are happening, who can get people started thinking about something - and in thinking in ways - that no one else has invited them to consider. 

That's my job. 

How about you? What's your self-imposed challenge to be more you this year?

V/r,

JW

PS: 3 things…

1. If you're around Marin County on 23 April, join us at Angel Island for a picnic and walk around the San Francisco Bay!

2. I've got a fantastic travel schedule coming at me; so, if you're up for a real-in-person-visit, hit reply, and I'll find a way!

3. The #DrumCircle continues; we've got a new challenge/opportunity coming up. If you're on Marco Polo and wanna play, let me know. 

Ok, I can't help myself, one more:

The next #zoomBeer I schedule for the #DrumCircle will be to discuss what you come up with (against?) researching the book "The Extended Mind" by Paul.

Coming soon…