Halifax, Sunday, June 6, 4:30pm

First thing to remember about adventures, they have their ups and their downs.  I arrived here in Nova Scotia without incident but sadly my baggage did not.  And at this point, it is still being traced.  One of the first people I met immediately offered me her fleece and an umbrella.  So I now have the means to be warm and dry at the same time.   A true kindness.

 The landscape here is beautiful.  Hilly, lushly green, lupines, ferns, birch and quite rocky.  Halifax has the best natural deep harbor outside of Sidney, Australia, according to my shuttle driver.  The view from the bridge over the basin, as it is known here in Halifax, was breathtaking.  It’s about 60 degrees, soggy and quite foggy…a bit other worldly.  I am curious as to what the opening remarks will be about and how the tone will be set for this week.

 Sunday, 9:00pm

Lovely dinner to open the Institute – the room was a buzz with hospitality and children’s laughter.  Opening remarks acknowledging that this is the tenth anniversary of this event and there is a sense of being on the cusp in terms of what is called for next.  I was struck by this comment since this is the predominant feeling I been having lately in my work at the Early Childhood Investment Corporation as well; a strong and growing feeling that what lies ahead will not be the same as what has gone before.  Our speaker talked about playing with questions around this cusp and I like the sense that I get when I think about playing with questions vs. having to know the answers.  It has been my experience that arriving at the next right questions can bring renewed energy and commitment.  What questions are you playing with in regards to the cusps in your work?

 There is a strong sense of serene hospitality here.  Simple and beautiful flower arrangements, fresh fruit, and a lack of professional pretence.  One of the opening speakers said, “There are no strangers here, just friends who haven’t yet met.” And the room nodded in agreement with this old wisdom from William Butler Yeats.

When I asked my friend Jim what he was thinking/feeling as we chatted after the opening – he said, "Excitement! and a looking forward to the deeper connections that come at the edges."  As we all have experienced, it is the open spaces that are created outside of or between the sessions that often offer the richest learning through connection and conversation.  I appreciate Jim’s reminder not to get too caught in thinking it's all about the sessions but to remember to notice what is possible at the edges.  At your next opportunity, capitalize on an edge that arises and see if you find you make a deeper connection.  Let me know what you notice.