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Women's Leadership in Boston and Milwaukee
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Leading as a Living Process
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The past several weeks have been, perhaps, a taste of the future. At
the end of March, Zimbabweans held a general election and have since
stood in that space between the ending of the old and the beginning of
the new. It’s not an unfamiliar place for Zimbabwe, but the pause this
time feels deeper and more pregnant than ever before.
Nearly 60 people from the Berkana Exchange were due to hold our annual
gathering at Kufunda Learning Village in early May. Our collective
discernment process has been filled with hope, fear, grief and clarity.
What a challenging decision! Many of us have been stacking up
conversations that can only take place face-to-face for months now. But
beyond that, what is right relationship with our dear friends at
Kufunda, who have been preparing for this gathering for months? How do
we support them at this time? Should we go anyway, meet instead in
South Africa or postpone? How do we make this decision as a community
working with distributed leadership and relying on technology to keep
us connected?
In the end, we decided to postpone our gathering until October.
We are walking into a future when things will continue to fall apart
when we least expect it. What do we do? We keep talking. We stay
connected even when the connections are spotty. We stay in the mess. We
stay in our friendships. And we listen carefully with our hearts about
what wants to happen next.
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It has often been said that our span of awareness is a mile wide and an
inch deep. The quality of our inner life is frequently overlooked in
our efforts to cope with the daily demands and expectations of our
outer life. In this thoughtful article, Michael Jones explores our
personal ecology: How much attention do we focus on the ground beneath
us—the roots and soil that give us the resilience and strength to
weather sudden changes year after year?
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“We are of one mind that the only way to prepare for an unknown future
is to begin practicing how we would like that future to be, now. We
desire a future in which the human spirit is seen as the blessing, not
the problem. We envision communities that are healthy and resilient.
And to bring these dreams into form, we realize that it’s up to us to
start embodying these ideals and practices right now, day-to-day.” With
these words, Meg Wheatley opens Berkana’s 2007 Annual Report. We invite
you to read our stories from yet another year of filled with change,
learning and beauty.
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Join Margaret Wheatley and local women leaders at the Women's
Leadership Revival Tour for an opportunity to encourage, provoke, and
inspire one another as leaders and changemakers in our communities and
organizations. Connect with other women through conversation, song,
movement and poetry. This unique event to celebrate the gift of women's
leadership is coming to Milwaukee on June 16 and to Boston on June 18.
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Despite the political turbulence, Steve Ryman returned to Zimbabwe this
past April to visit his dear friends at Kufunda Learning Village.
Together, they explored questions about how to peacefully transform old
power structures of patronage and intimidation into new systems of
governance that call forth people’s integrity, gifts and resilience.
Once again, at Kufunda he finds hope: “I cannot state strongly enough
the courage that I experience and what a tremendous honor it is to
stand beside these peaceful warriors as they engage in such profound
conversations.”
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As things around us speed up, slowing down to reflect, connect and
gather with friends can be just what we need to maintain our balance.
Throughout May and June, our community is offering many opportunities
to gather together to listen deeply, share stories and learn. In May,
join The Art of Hosting in Ireland or learn Strategic Presencing with
the Tarot in Greece. In June, travel to Canada to learn about convening
conversations that matter in Alberta or come together with a community
of learners at the Shambhala Summer Institute in Nova Scotia.
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The Berkana Institute connects and supports pioneering, life-affirming
leaders around the world who strengthen their communities by working
with the wisdom and wealth already present in its people, traditions
and environment.
We define a leader as anyone who wants to help, who is willing to step
forward to create change in their world. And we know that the leaders
we need are already here.
We invite you to join us on this journey
Deborah Frieze and Bob Stilger
Co-Presidents, The Berkana Institute
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