Every Friday when I sit down to write this blog, I feel myself working hard to brush away all the clutter of the week. You know…the meetings, the conference calls, the deadlines, the worries, and my reactions to all of the above – to try to get down the essence of what matters.
 

Last Thursday family and friends celebrated my grandson’s first birthday. We were three generations, united by marriage and divided by divorce. We were in our twenties, our forties, our fifties and our sixties. Each of us has played a part in shepherding one precious being’s first year of life. And there we all were to admire him, in his toddling, smiling, babbling, glorious cake eating frenzy! His loving, friendly, curious, little scientist self is a reflection of our care for him and his mama over this year of great transformation. 

I hope it does not age me too much if I tell you that a line of prose from Khalil Gibran has been on my mind for the last couple of days. I don’t see or hear too much about his work anymore but in the late 1970’s (there is the aging me part) and 1980’s his work was extremely popular, especially among young women wantabe poets. (Guess who?)
 

I have been trying to feel rather than think my way into a more effective way to work with paradox. 
 
My thinking (rather than feeling) on this got started in a conversation with leaders from other states regarding a paper Charlie Bruner (of the Build Initiative) was writing on the paradoxes of system building.    As soon as the title of the paper was shared it prompted one of those moments where suddenly something that I didn’t even know was fundamental to my work, was revealed, in one quick instant. 
 

It’s been another one of those weeks where before I knew it, it’s whizzed by and I have barely had a moment to reflect on what I actually accomplished this week. Some weeks when I reflect, I really have to work at staying positive, telling myself yet again that change comes from that series of daily baby steps, hardly ever one big giant leap. I sometimes think I need new glasses, with much higher magnification, to see the size of the step we have been able to take in a week. 
 

The ALIA Institute ended a week ago today and I am still pondering and stirring all that I heard, saw, felt, experienced, and learned while I was there. It feels a bit like when one pans for gold; a meditative, swirling, refining process that slowly, slowly reveals the gold nuggets. If I go too fast, I might actually miss the real gold and if I stop too soon, I might be satisfied with the fool’s gold.  So as I step through the daily activities of my work, practicing mindfulness in my choices and interactions, I am noticing what is ri

 Halifax, Friday, 2:00pm

 Today is the last day of the ALIA Institute and as with all such endings, I am noticing the variety of feelings that I am experiencing as we complete our final module sections and move toward the closing session and evening banquet. 

 Halifax, 11:00 pm, Wednesday

Thank you to all those who never lost hope that indeed my luggage was meant to join me in Halifax…just not until Tuesday afternoon.  It was like seeing an old friend – one I hadn’t realized how much I would miss if we ever parted!

 Halifax, Monday 11:44 pm

It has been quite a day and it's only now that I am sitting down to put some thoughts on paper, so to speak.  For those that are sending baggage finding rays out into the universe…keep it up!  Still waiting with hope for my luggage to arrive.

 Halifax, Sunday, June 6, 4:30pm