I first notice the contrast in light – dark blue mountains in the background as the storm clouds grumble away – slapped into submission by strong western sunlight. And the lake surrounded by hills – the blue mirroring the mountains, but broken by brilliant white peaks – sailboats! The foreground is bathed in the textured gold of a dry autumn meadow. My shadow stands in the center – taking this one last cellphone shot of the only place I’ve ever truly felt at home.
It’s the contrasts that draw me in. The light in that place would never be so vivid without the deep dark blue trying to swallow it whole. Without the vivid sunlit gold, that shade of blue would turn muted gray. I know this. For years in intermittent seasons I have watched the mountain moods shift multiple times in a day…the soft light of dawn, the dry shimmering mirage of afternoon, the eerie light of a snowy sunset. The more the contrast, the more I am riveted, and the deeper the beauty.
My mother has lived here in this amazing place for over 30 years. But I doubt she has experienced it as I do. For she is caught in the small confining daily cycles of her attention: laundry, cooking, taking care of the cat. She is focused on what she can control. And I can’t help feeling that what is known to her is a very diminished place compared to mine.
So I wonder – what information am I missing because I am too busy focusing on the known, The To-Do list, the small cycles of what I can control? How is my experience, my outlook and my ultimate value in a situation compromised because I fail to see the farther horizons, the unique shadows, the “weather” in a situation?
Maybe this post is about mindfulness. And maybe it’s about gratitude. It could be about just trying to embrace the reality of a situation while still finding surprise in it, or humor, or beauty. How would my work experience shift if I could bring these questions intentionally into play?
In Shift/POV, the facilitation tool I have developed for groups grappling with conflict and change – the Random Factors provide such opportunities. These are cards in three suits: Actions, Observations, and Questions. Participants draw a card between timed discussion rounds and have 60 seconds to engage the prompt on the card. The purpose of this “random” activity can be multiple: to help prompt insight and mindfulness, to help look at an issue in a completely different light, and maybe, just maybe to create enough distance to see the problem, and our participation in it, in a whole new way. If we get these chances in our working lives, we are fortunate. And if we can build this “sense of place” into our way of knowing – I have to believe we can bring ourselves so much more authentically – and joyfully – into the work we do.