Why do we write in journals? Why do we post blogs? For me, the answer can be found in the learning and insight we receive from reopening the books and revisiting the stories we wrote to ourselves and shared with others. My blog post from August 2, 2017 was titled “How I am Getting Grounded.” It was the preamble to the launch of my consulting business and my plan for “cultivating leadership well-being.” Rereading it in the mountains of Boone this weekend was inspiring and somewhat exhausting. There is no question that I was ready to leave my previous leadership position and move into new spaces to influence positive change in others.
Taking stock of what I’ve accomplished over these last three years, I do feel grounded in the knowledge that I followed my heart and stayed rooted in my purpose. My first year was all about “leaping into new possibilities” and extending myself into a diverse and delightful assortment of organizations and projects. The second year was a more careful process of curating and “choosing what not to do,” to bring me closer to a balanced life to honor my core value of personal well-being. This last year has been digging deeper into the soil at Raleigh City Farm and honoring my desire to reorient my focus to one organization.
So, this blog represents the “official” closing of my consulting business, and the continuation of my efforts to cultivate plants and people. To exercise my innate leadership capabilities in the right places. To honor my creative gifts and share them with others. To love more deeply and give more freely – to myself, my family and my community. To move more lightly through the world, while stewarding its bounty. And finally, to dive more deeply into an examination of my white privilege and join the fight for racial justice and equity. What a time we live in. What an opportunity to tap into a global sense of urgency and hunger for change.