Women in the LEAD

Partnership and Interconnection: Where Do Great Opportunities Lie In the Year To Come?

No woman (or man) is an island upon themselves.  Many of us are beginning to realize that we are all connected to each other in ways that we have not previously realized.  I once heard Deepak Chopra say-“the breath that you breathe out this moment will be received as air in

China

in six months”. This statement made the interconnectedness principle even clearer to me. It was in the moment that I heard Dr. Chopras’ comment that I began to see the principle of interconnectedness as not only a spiritual law, but a physical law as well.

What does all of this mean on a day to day basis and more importantly where does the opportunity lie?

I believe that our ability to collaborate and partner is now more important than it has ever been in the past; both for our personal wellbeing and that of the world that we live in.  It is now time that we realize that we are far greater, more effective and more powerful when we combine our efforts and forces of good with others Take a moment and choose an area in your life where you hold deep conviction. How could greater collaboration, networking or sharing this conviction benefit you or others?

Riane Eisner in, “The Power of Partnership: Seven Relationships That Will Change Your Life” discuses how our life, when fully lived, includes many different kinds of partnerships such as:

• Our relationship with ourselves

• Our intimate relationships

• Our workplace and community relations

• Our relationship with our national community

• Our international and multicultural relationships

• Our relationship with nature and the living environment

• Our relationship with our spirit

Take a look at each of the seven areas that Riane describes above and ask yourself:

How is my relationship in this area?

Where is there room to strengthen or improve my life in this area?

What one action or realization am I open to at this moment?

As we embark upon a New Year many new opportunities are available to us. There is great wisdom in living our lives as part of something much greater then we ourselves can ever be!

Happy New Year!!!

Maureen Simon  

The Gift of Love and Forgiveness

This was a season of love and forgiveness. It came with a package from my daughter and a letter. She described a visit we had had with her in October---"I had the best gift in the world, the gift of forgiveness...the gift of love...the gift of acceptance, which came from our time together." She went on to say that this year she was grateful to have a renewed relationship...and that in the process of it unfolding she had learned to not take it for granted, but to believe in Amazing Grace. This is about as good as it gets for a mother...and for a daughter, too. I feel it!

So much of life, the mother and daughter so often seem to struggle, but what a great joy when, at last, you can fall into each other with a renewed gift of love and forgiveness, accepting one another for who you've grown to be. I'm not sure my mom and I did this fully. She did the best she could do with what she had and in the end, it was Amazing Grace that led me to this acceptance of her.

There is a power in love and forgiveness that cannot be denied. It frees you!

Who do you need to love and forgive in this season of renewal?

What story comes to mind for YOU? Hope you'll share it.

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center and Women in the Lead

Come for a visit: Women in the Lead at the Global Dialogue Center

Do Your Actions Line Up With Your Intentions?

“Take a minute.  Look at your goals.  Look at your performance.  See if your behavior matches your goals.”

Kenneth Blanchard, PhD..

The One Minute Manager

As we enter this time of renewal , a time of great possibilities...we can reflect on the quality of our life. We can take a minute to evaluate consciously : how we have been living----where is there room for  greater use of my gifted potential. We can ask--what do I consciously want to create in my life. Life hold so many possibilities.

If we carry lofty ideas of what we want to accomplish in our life but our day by day actions come nowhere near these aspirations, we will live in a dream world. Each of us has a unique offering that we can make in this world. Discover yours.

• Where do your natural strengths and abilities lie?
• What do you enjoy doing, what do you do well?
• Where does your greatest sense of contribution and meaning lie in your life?

When we take the time to reach below the surface of our day to day life we will begin to see patterns and to discover answers that will lead us to a far richer , more meaningful life. Never let fear or laziness hold you back from becoming more self aware. Figuratively ...move off of the "couch of life"... Fully explore the possibilities that  your life holds. I have a strong feeling that you will be pleasantly surprised!

Maureen Simon

The Winter Solstice

The winter solstice carries deep meaning in the Celtic tradition.  It is a time when we turn inward away from the world.  In the quiet, we have an opportunity to contemplate, be more aware of our dreams and visions.  During the winter solstice, the rain or snow is often heavy.  This intensity symbolizes a deep clearing.  In the Celtic tradition, this time of year is also associated with rebirth – the dying of the old and the making way for the new. 

• Where in your life are you experiencing a deadness or stuckness that you are now willing to release?

• Are you allowing enough down time and quiet in your life to allow for contemplation and inward reflection?

• What barriers are you willing to take down, where are you willing to open your thinking?  Where are you willing to expand in your life at this time?

Maureen Simon

Moving Forward To 2006

As the year comes to a close, we have the opportunity to look behind us; to evaluate the path that we have traveled, and to look forward to envision the pure potential that our lives now hold.  The new year is a time of reading the omens for new beginnings.  In history, many have believed, including the ancient Celts,  that the first 12 days of the year will tell us the disposition of the weather for the year ahead.  The Druids were the seers, the readers for the community and for this knowledge.  As we move forward in to the new year, we can see that this is a good time to divine and intend the possibilities of the year ahead.

Here are some important questions when taking this journey:

• What road have you traveled? 
• What must you bring forward from your past?
• What invaluable lessons have you learned?
• Why are you really here?
• Are you living the life you were meant to?
• What must change?
• What is the highest possibility?
• Where are you headed?
• What do you now need?

As you begin to answer these questions, they can have somewhat of an etheric flow.  To the Celts, the question holds the answer and the potential always lies within.  Take the journey above.  Much will be revealed.

Maureen Simon

The world is calling you...

I loved Maureen calling to all us to move into 2006. For women leaders in organizations, in the community or on the home front, the calling is clear. Some years back I worked on what simple message carried this invitation. This is what evolved.


Welcome the unexpected
Watch for the uncharted path
that bears your name.
Lead the way!

by Debbe Kennedy

Visit Women in the Lead at the Global Dialogue Center

Pleasures of the Winter Season

“May there be many summer mornings when, with what pleasure, what joy, you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading stations. To buy fine things, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfumes of every kind – as many sensual perfumes as you can…”

From C.P. Cavafy,  Ithaka

When I think about the rich abundant sensual world that we live in, my heart warms.  The amount of potential pleasure that abounds in each day is phenomenal.  The world holds many delights that are available through our senses at any moment.  How often do we take the time to experience these gifts?  The gift of seeing, hearing, touching and smelling all hold vast opportunities for pleasure and the enrichment of our lives.  How often do you stop to avail yourself of these vast opportunities?

In this holiday season, we have the opportunity to observe these gifts multifold.  We have the opportunity to appreciate scent, beautiful visions, caring touch and beautiful sounds.  Make the most of life.  Tune in to life’s finer pleasures.  Enjoy all that is around you.

Maureen Simon

Europe As A Leader

Twenty-five nations representing 455 million people have joined together to create a United States of Europe.  The European Union’s $10.5 trillion GDP now eclipses that of the United States, making it the largest in the world.  Moreover, much of Europe enjoys a longer life span, greater literacy, less poverty and crime, longer vacations and shorter commutes to work than we do in the United States.  More important, Europe has become a giant laboratory for rethinking humanity’s future.  In many respects, the European dream is the mirror opposite of the American dream.  While the American dream emphasized unrestrained economic growth, personal wealth, and the pursuit of individual self interest, the European dream focuses more on sustainable development, quality of life and the nurturing of community.

An excerpt from “The European Dream”
Jeremy Rifkin

Having worked and lived in Europe for over thirteen years, and still maintaining an active business in London, I am very clear that Europe has the potential to provide major leadership to our world at this time.  I am very aware of some of the problems that the European Union faces today: a lack of agreement on new incoming Union countries, problems with shared currency, and different individual national and cultural needs.  In lieu of these differences, Europe has become the new melting pot.  Blending the likes and differences of twenty five nations is an amazing feat in this day of individuality.  Each of these nations was formed under unique cultural differences.  It amazes me to see how far the European Union has come in so few years.

It is in our differences that we will find our greatest connection.  The world view that Europe now holds is truly multi-cultural and carries great wisdom of the ages.  I have a great wish that I hold in my heart and that is that Europe will provide the world with great teachings and knowledge.  And that we will be wise enough to listen.

Maureen Simon

Women as Leaders and GOOD NEIGHBORS

Last week, the Global Dialogue Center and Women in the Lead participated in an extraordinary event called the Habitat Jam. It was created through the visionary collaboration of the Government of Canada, UN-Habitat and IBM. For 72 hours, people representing 191 countries around the world came to talk with one another online about the most pressing issues of our time in cities and communities across the world. It was the largest online dialogue ever held, crossing a new threshold of human communication and involvement ---- a truly historic moment. The purpose of the event was to invite citizens of the world to put their fingerprint on both history and also to invite them to help shape the priorities for the upcoming WORLD FORUM III being held in Vancouver in June 2006.

What was moving about this special conversation was that it was INCLUSIVE ---- really INCLUSIVE. Three specific examples that touched me were:

1. They had volunteers go to slums and places where the people do not have access to computers or live in communities where they would not be asked to sit that the table to share their needs and creative ideas ---- and they held "world cafes" to include everyones voice. Read more...

2. I invited a blind friend to come hoping that it would be accessible. IT WAS! ... and many people with disabilities were there sharing their stories and ideas. My friend, Bill, had such a great time that he made the front page news.

3. Rich and poor, people across all dimensions of existence were there to be with one another. There was a mutual sense of respect and dignity for all...72 hours of "world peace."

WOMEN had an amazing presence there. They came to tell their stories of leadership, share their needs and blaze the trail with new ideas. Around the world, there are so many wonderful examples of women discovering their essential roles in creating better futures in our cities, communities, organizations, governments and home fronts. As these 21st Century pioneers forge new paths, there are lessons for all of us to learn and apply to our own spans of influence and opportunity.

LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP
Not long ago, I wrote a story about some wonderful women in AFRICA that has stayed with me. I thought about them at this conversation.

What I remember is looking into the beautiful faces in the picture of these leaders and mothers and reflected on their story, realizing that these amazing qualities that were demonstrated in their inspiring story -----the qualities of courage, ingenuity, capacity to love and calm and heal, to teach and nurture and to build trust and reinvent --- are the qualities that we need everywhere in the world today---qualities that lie within us too.

AREN'T THESE THE QUALITIES WE NEED NOW?

It also came to me that by their example, the good women of Africa are calling upon us to join them, developing our capacity to change the landscape of our workplaces, marketplaces, communities where we live --- in businesses, politics, the public sector, government and in our homes.

How can each of us translate these qualities of leadership and being good neighbors into our important work and lives?

As we approach this season of gratitude, giving and reflection, may we all commit ourselves to a new consciousness about our gifts and the opportunity for us to lead the way.

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center

Home For The Holidays

As the holidays closely approach, we have an opportunity to understand where our home actually is.  Creating beautiful spaces and sharing intimate moments with family and friends are all an important part of this special holiday season.  However, our physical world and how we live in it is only one aspect of our actual home.

During this holiday season, I have renewed a very special commitment to myself, and that is to remember that my true home lies in the stillness of my heart.  My true home lies in a deep connection with that which is much greater than I.  In the rush and quickness of these times, it is very important to remember that if we quiet our busy mind and go inward and connect with that which is greater than our selves, we will truly come home for the holidays.

Maureen Simon