Leadership and manifestation

I'm in Quebec City for a few days, hanging out with my mother and shopping. I had no idea she could move that fast. It would seem that to her, the sound of doors opening at 9:00 a.m. is akin to that of a starter pistol.

Although it's only been three days, I feel somehow rekindled and ready for more! Who would have thought that treking through shopping centers would be the space I needed to allow new thoughts to flow. Me...who hates shopping! Somewhere between the last t-shirt and the red leather travel bag, it occurred to me that, in some way, this is the enlargening (is that a word???) space into which next week will flow. And all I've done is play.

Next week, I am at Oceanstone for a small gathering of women to explore what redefining and reclaiming 'leadership' might look and sound like. These women have been drawn to this small collective from an unspoken yet shared personal experience of knowing that their lives do not match the immensity of their presence, their intention and their longing for more. Each unique and talented in her own way (and aren't we all!), I enter into an exploration with them fully aware that I have no idea where it will end up; no idea what conclusions we may come to. And yet, what I am also very aware of is that the discovery is there for us to step into and wear as how we choose to live.

Like January 2006 saw an awakening of a pressure for me to engage, so does this coming week offer that same kind of pressure to engage....a pressure to step outside the traditional conversation about the good ship 'leader-ship' and consider the implications of all the barnacles that have come to attach themselves over time and distance travelled; of the impact of having sailed the same waters far too many times and forgotten or overlooked what it is to be in the vast unexplored and undiscovered. We think we know what leadership is. I believe that we know what it is, relative to what we think we are. However, as the new biology redefines what we are, have we stopped to consider the implications of this new knowledge relative to our capacity to manifest? And what is leadership if not a capacity to manifest!

This week has been filled with fun and play. Next week will be filled with fun and play of a different kind...of a higher order of impact and potential. Perhaps next week's conversation will take us beyond noticing that the Emperor has no clothes and create the space for us to shop for new ones!

Breathing is good......