Under a tree

I’m developing a workshop around the idea of ‘extraordinary collaboration’ and it’s turning out to be an amazing journey. Yesterday I decided to just take some time and reflect on the concept. So I grabbed my old foam kneeling pad from the gardening supplies and headed to the orchard to sit under a tree.

A noisy plane flew overhead. It seemed appropriate somehow—the noise and commotion of the everyday world had my thoughts in an agitated jumble. So I sat and waited until the noise died down. Then I heard birds. All kinds of birds, busy with their flurry of spring nest building. As I listened, my thoughts quieted and I could hear their different voices. Two crows flew overhead.

When my mind was calm, I turned my focus to the idea of extraordinary collaboration. I mentally placed the phrase in the space in front of me and watched to see what would happen. Snow began to fall. (Snow! In April, no less.) I listened to the flakes land on the leaves and on my jacket.

Suddenly I realized—this is collaboration too! Extraordinary collaboration is nothing new. It’s how nature works. Rain (or snow) falls and nourishes the earth. The sun shines and warms the soil. The earth nourishes the plants, which feed the animals and the people. Birds scatter seeds and build nests. Animals harvest the plants and nourish the soil. All of nature is extraordinary collaboration. It’s how the world works. We don’t have to invent it—it’s in our very blood and bones. We just have to remember and tap into it, bring forth this collaboration in our own lives.

I realized too, that sitting still is a part of the process. When I sit still long enough to let my thoughts settle, I can start to hear what my soul is saying.

A lot of the work of putting together this workshop is very active work—developing the concept, creating the activities, finding participants. But there’s an essential part of this process that is very quiet. It’s about sitting still and listening for what needs to come next. This is extraordinary collaboration too—collaboration with one’s own soul.