Coincidence

So I go to the US a few years back and meet New York based improviser and consultant Cathy Salit. Fast forward to this week and Cathy is in Australia to do a pilot of her Performance Of A Lifetime program with a client.

In the meantime, New Zealander Anne Pattillo and I do some work together, start a facilitation training business, write the odd manifesto together – you get the picture.

Cathy is in Melbourne for less than a week. As it happens Anne is also in town for a facilitation gig, and I’m just back from working overseas, so we squeeze in a lunch. Anne meets Cathy for the first time. We have a great lunch, lots of laughs, and go our separate ways.

The following day, Anne’s doing her gig at the Werribee Mansion – and at afternoon tea time looks across the hall at another group facilitated by, you guessed it, Cathy.

And while this is happening unbeknownst to me, a book arrives in the mail from the TED book club called Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler.

Oh, and it’s also a full moon!

Richer

Scoff if you want. Having criteria to decide what I do and don’t do is actually liberating. Yeah, I know – it’s totally out of character, I’m sure such discipline is not something you would generally attribute to me. Nonetheless, I’ve been applying my criteria – and that is harder than it sounds – and very happy when I do. I may be poorer (in a money way of measuring) but I am much richer in every other way.

Here they are again:

• Can I make a real contribution? Is there a need for my skills? Will I make a difference?
• Will it stretch me? Is it edgy? Will it contribute to my continued learning?
• Is there an opportunity to build capacity, and transfer my skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to others?
• Will it enable me to make money and provide for the future?
• Is there an opportunity to travel to new or interesting places?
• Will I be with cool people, especially friends? Will I potentially make new friends, and build existing relationships?
• Will I have fun?
• Am I excited by the prospect?

Four, or more, and it’s a yes!

Putting down your clever

I’ve been reading lots of interesting blogs lately – and wanting to comment on them – and blocking myself by wanting to say something, oh, you know, clever or witty.

So I say nothing, and I lose an opportunity to connect, and to just say, thanks for writing this. So I’m going to consciously try to put down my clever and pick up my ordinary.

Hat tip: Lief Hansen

Time well spent

Here’s some images from my recent trip to the US. I was there on holidays, and to attend the Applied Improv Conference in Portland, Oregon.

The highlights were the scenery, autumn colours, fresh snow, Yosemite (wow!), indulging my passion for photography, sharing the improv conference with my good friends Anne Pattillo, Geoff Brown and Chris Corrigan and the deepening friendships that develop from shared experiences, seeing Geoff and Chris improvise music on stage in Portland, and reconnecting with old friends. There were also some people I missed, and some new friendships forged, many ideas, time to reflect, laugh, and re-energise. Time well spent indeed.

Where’s Viv?

This post is prompted by the question posed recently: “Has Viv dropped off the planet?”

Well, no… not really. I’ve been on holidays – that’s vacation in America-speak, so that accounts for me being quieter than usual in the blogosphere and elsewhere. I like being unavailable, off-line – although my partner would definitely disagree, saying I’m addicted to email and blogging and facebook and twitter and whatever else is going around.

But I guess there’s a bigger question than the obvious. And isn’t that what we facilitators do? Look for the question behind the question?

So to partly respond, I want to share my favourite Armando Diaz quote from the recent Applied Improv Conference at Portland. He said, “If you have a boring life, you’ll probably be a boring improvisor.”

So, I’m trying not to have a boring life!

And, yes, I have shifted my focus – from groups of people to individuals; from where I might be expected to show up to, well, anywhere else. And I’m looking for the latest iteration in my career. So if the question is “Has Viv dropped off the planet?” the answer might be “Nope, but she’s still looking.”

Space

I’ve written before about the flow of work and the seasons, and how my energy waxes and wanes according to the time of the year. This, and the  different time zones inhabited by my friends and colleagues, makes for some interesting connectedness – or not!

So I am very much looking forward to the next few weeks. A road trip holiday followed by my favourite conference for learning, being challenged, inspiration, lots of laughs and reconnecting with some great mates – the Applied Improvisation Conference in Portland, Oregon.

It’s this combo of  time-out and challenge, new experiences and familiarity, awe-inspiring nature and living simply, day-by-day with no plans, no itineraries, no-where in particular to be for three whole weeks, that best recharges my batteries. Top this off with a dose of improv and you have one happy Viv.

Things might be a bit quiet around here – or maybe not.

Off the air

I’ll be off the air for a week or so.

I expect to have many stories to tell on my return to the airwaves.

In the meantime, stay safe, wherever you are.

And so as you don’t forget me, here’s my latest rock balancing effort.

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Ways of knowing

Way back, when I did my Masters, I took a subject called Ways of Knowing. I think. Maybe I made that up. I DO remember lots of talk about knowing. I DO know it’s been of interest to me ever since.

Scientific, evidence-based knowing is one way of knowing. There are others. I’m most interested in ways of knowing that become a part of me – not just a cognitive, intellectual understanding, but a down-to-your-toes and end-of-your-fingertips type of knowing.

There’s a few things I’ve been exploring that I can still only grasp cognitively. When explained to me, I can nod, and think, ‘yes, I get that’ – but I don’t really. Not to the point where I can recognise it when it leaps out at me, or others.

Here’s one I came to understood eventually: ‘the action is in the interaction’ (this I learnt from Paul Z Jackson and solutions-focus). I sort of understood it – intellectually anyway – until one day it just clicked and I actually FELT a new understanding. It’s no longer just a glib phrase, but a deep understanding that I can live and share with others.

And here’s two I’m still struggling with.

‘Split intentions’ and ‘liminal space‘.

Many have tried different ways of explaining – and I’ll keep exploring, because one day, I hope, these will just  ’click’ too, and I’ll really *get* them. Why do I bother? Because I think both concepts are interesting and helpful in understanding how and why, we and the world, works. And because I’m curious. And maybe a little bit stubborn. And I’m interested in different ways of knowing.

Post-script: Patti Digh and David Robinson introduced me to both these concepts – so I hold them responsible! And in the absence of being able to sit down with them and have a long conversation, here’s the next best thing. Patti and David are hosting a free teleclass later this week on split intentions. If, like me, you’re interested in this, and can’t make the teleclass live, by registering you’ll be able to listen later. That’s my plan. Go here to register.

Stop thinking

Over the past fortnight I’ve had a particularly tricky problem on my mind – nothing too serious, just messy and complicated and a bit demoralising. The more I thought about it the less able I felt. I started to question my own capacity to think and make sense, yet alone identify options.

So I let it go. I stopped thinking about the issue for a whole week. Consciously, anyway. I read books. I blogged. I watched mindless television and exciting football games (that’d be Aussie Rules Football of course!) I walked on the beach and in the forest. I balanced rocks. I had weird dreams – none of which I can remember. I weeded the vegie garden. I trained some people in facilitation. I listened to music. I slept in. I met friends for coffee, and others for dinner.

And then I returned to the problem. And click, click, click. The synapses fired. Options were all around. Ideas exploding. Enthusiasm reignited. I just had to let it go and be patient. Easy to say. Hard to do. Worth remembering.

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Taking Stock

It doesn’t feel like it’s been all that remarkable, this week that’s just gone, until I look at all that’s happened.

• A collaboration involving five people from four countries was approved – enabling me to work with some great mates on a challenging and exciting project
• A good friend gave birth to her first child – always reason for celebration
• Another friend had confirmation of a new job and resigned his old one.
• There were numerous birthdays this week – what is it about the last week of August?
• My niece got married
• Anne Pattillo and I wrote a manifesto about our facilitation training, and tweaked the program
• Some strategy work in developing countries was confirmed
• Saw a remarkable one-man, 30 puppets play called Billy Twinkle: Requiem for a Golden Boy
• I helped a friend in Sweden design an important three-day workshop he’s facilitating in Paris this weekend
• My persistent cough finally packed up and left – for good, I hope!
• I took some half-decent photos on my new camera – in total manual mode (now to take some fully-decent ones)
• Caught up with another friend who has been overseas for the last seven weeks
• And had lunch with yet another friend who I hadn’t seen for about 10 years
• Spoke with at least 10 people on skype from six different countries
• Explained to my hairdresser how he could talk to his mum and his sister (in England) at the same time on skype using conference call
• Helped another friend who is making a documentary film organise a trip to the US, set up skype, and introduced him to people I know in places he’s visiting
• I read lots of inspirational blogs, funny blogs, shocking blogs; connected via Twitter and Facebook
• Three books arrived from the US courtesy of the TED book club

Sometimes it’s worth stopping to take stock.

Lucky I don’t have a real job!

Phew! Time for a drink, I reckon.