Towards WE & BEYOND - Impressions from a shared journey Part II
What a surprise, the second part already !
During a walk after lunch Doro reflected on the morning, and the decision to write this blog and why it felt scary. Two reasons came to mind,
First, would we loose our professional credibility if we talked openly and in a light-hearted style about our shared journey, and the feelings we experience as part of it.
Second, which impression would it make to post OUR journey as part of Bettina’s blog on her website. Would the equal partnership be truly visible?
When coming back Doro shared her thoughts with Bettina, concluding with respect to the first point, such a blog is an EXPERIMENT for both of us - we will see how it works and how we feel about it. There is nothing from stopping the experiment if it does not feel right any more!
With respect to the second point, Doro had a very important observation: in the end it is all about TRUST. What does this mean here? It means that when two people, with different backgrounds, experiences and offerings come together they will naturally bring different, complementary resources to the party. In our case, Bettina had the website and the blog already in place, facilitating access to the ‘outside world’ while Doro, after leaving a big, multi-national corporation, had the opportunity to slow down, reflect current reality and inquire fundamental knowledge relevant to our project, in other words, a pathway into the ‘inner world’.
All of this gave us insights about the importance of mindfulness, to be more specific, about the importance of:
Being open and listening to the feelings that emerge;
Taking some time to understand what they mean - and where they come from;
Daring to share feelings honestly with those whom it concerns - and from the other’s perspective to listen respectfully
We feel that this has strengthened our bond, added another thread to our fabric that will help us weather future challenges. We also realised that all too often such honesty and trust do not exist, especially in diverse groups, and we could have easily ended up tied in emotional knots - something quite often experienced in the professional and personal contexts.
We offer our second realisation: diversity always requires deep trust.
