2020 in the Mirror
2020 In the Mirror
Most year-in-review articles are primarily about showcasing a series of achievements and conveniently packaging them for social media consumption. This is no exception, although for me its primary (and original) purpose is as a sense making exercise which I think is the greater value for all of us.
In creating a list form overview of major professional/org achievements I also get to review each choice of what I consider an achievement and why is matters or doesn’t. Isn’t that the real value of sense making? “Sense” in this case being a kind of clarity and larger patterning emerging from the noise of daily struggle. In another word, meaning.
What did I/we do? Is it good and true and beautiful? Did it pay the bills? Is the world improved? Am I improved?
2020 Tick List
- Offered first full version of the Embodied Creators — Awareness program — Success!
- Pivot! — Adapted NEI business plan to fit covid patterns. And again. And again.
- 2 Year blue cards — official permission to live and work in Croatia for the Nova Earth project.
- First scholarly publication — A Transformative Edge — Knowledge, Inspiration and experiences for Educators of Adults.
- Participated in an EU funded TL professional facilitators event
- A deep dive into NEI and LK.com branding — it’s all about purpose.
- Added LK.com coaching and mentoring programs
- Extensive redesign of the NEI Embodied Creator programs
- Successful fund raising season with our first significant matching grant.
- New home and NEI HQ — we bought a building!
- Hash Browns — my kung fu is strong.
The Healing
Now that I’ve satisfied my ego and simplified tangible achievements for promotional and funding justification, I’d like to speak to something even more meaningful. Healing.
2020 has been the single most productive year of my life for healing.
Who am I? It’s been a big year for understanding the distinction between me, us, NEI and my own work which I’ll call LK.com. Branding was a key exercise to open that door and shed some more penetrating light on who I am and what I’m here for. And not here for. I strongly encourage everyone who hasn’t yet put concerted and committed effort into this inquiry process to do so. It’s … transformational. Right?
Home. I’ve been roaming the world following my own thread of work and adventure since 1982. This year we bought our first house and have dedicated 1/2 of it to studio and office space for NEI. When renovations are finished we will all have a proper home here in Motovun.
Money. Bootstrapping a non-profit at this time in history is not for the faint of heart. Alysia was busy with architecture projects that are paying the bills while we get the foundations for the NEI work in place, so I took over year end fund raising. It caused me to confront a great deal of my own wounding relating to identity, value, power, purpose, community, and ultimately, find healing in order to be effective. It was both intensely humbling, and somehow effective.
Purpose. Branding involves making many small decisions about one’s purpose and values in order to be effective. The branding decisions are actually easy, it’s the clarity and understanding of purpose and identity that is the tough part. I’m proud of us for the hard won maturity and renewed sense of clarity and purpose we earned through this process. There were tears. Lots of tears. Maybe purpose work is really just getting your head and your heart tenderized enough to be able to meet others well.
We put our hearts and souls and months of hard work into updating the Embodied Creator programs for the Fall and not enough people registered to run the program. I know this is is about covid and jobs and and life right now and not personal, but it was tough. I learned to see the value of our vision and take a longer and softer view of the path to success. I still believe this work is the right thing at the right time in history, but we might be early to the party. Oh the joys of trendsetting.
Coaching and Mentoring. Part of what came out of this is that I am profoundly moved by supporting the transformation of others. It’s who I am and I have developed a vast, deep and varied body of work around it. I largely let this go while I focused on the move and reinvention of NEI, but it’s time to come back to the dojo of transformation now though. If you’re challenged with a radical transformation in your life and work and you’re here for the greater good, ping me. I’d love to support and catalyze your process.
For me, creativity is the context in which transformation happens. This is distinctly different from Alysia and even though my instincts told me our perspectives were compatible, it took quite a lot of exploration to understand how, and put it to work in a practical way. (Understatement)
That led me to adding an offering of coaching and mentoring work through my own site that is a supporting element to the NEI work of transforming lives though creativity. I am now the first independent teacher offering compatible support services through NEI. More to come, it takes a village.
Consciousness. This year I’m particularly grateful for experience in working with my mind and emotions and body. Retreat experience. Nothing like a month long meditation retreat to learn how to sit the hell down and just… sit. To observe experience and allow it to move through. To not believe all the thoughts. To understand hope is larger than circumstantial conditions. To have courage and understanding to go through the inevitable healing process that presence provides. To regain sanity rather than lose it.
Kindness. The unrelenting experience of 2020 catalyzed things, the response I chose was to lean into kindness. I’m grateful for that decision.
Strength comes from practice and I now know I am strong enough. And soft enough. And wise and loving and aware enough. In short, I am enough.
Love. Turns out there’s nothing more powerful, more meaningful or more healing. Beyond faith is direct experience. Ironically, this leads to more faith. Or at least it does for me.
2020 was the year it all broke down, and I think that was good for us. May 2021 be the year of new creations. It’s time for the beautiful new world.
If I or we can help you in your transformation and endeavors, please reach out.
It still takes a village, or maybe a city now. I’d like to thank so many people for so many reasons and here’s a snapshot.
Alysia. My God, woman. Seriously.
Tom and Maggie Lund Dorothy and Julian Kampf Laura Blose Cayla Moss Carri Munn Robert Edward Grant Branko and Jadranka Metzger-Sober Bianca Monroy Vida Orgorelec Denise Gallagher Jasenka Gojsic Rick Eastland Vlado Barbic Ranko Bon TJ and Becky Jambrović Jonathan Clark Christine Chrisman Mike Lavigne The Allies The Heavy Bros Marilyn Mehlman Jeanette Bronee Neža Krek Sara Dyson Mathew King Dino Gliha Rupam Henry Vojka Kotiga and all the denizens of Motovun — The Hill of Fools.
