How do we ‘do’ in 2024

How do we ‘do’ in 2024

by Jen Ayres, December 2023

Since attending Master Class this year, the word ‘how’ has been sinking into my bones. In one of our nature-immersion sessions, I spent some time really watching the birds in my garden as they flitted from gate to bird feeder in what felt like a choreographed dance of harmonious turn-taking. It really struck me how every bird managed to eat their fill in an effortless way without needing to form a queue, take a ticket or use any of the other people management tools humans need to ‘keep things fair’. Master Class encouraged us to listen to the wisdom nature has to share and so I’ve let the unformed questions the birds were generating in me percolate and I keep coming back to the word ‘how’. How do we do the things we do? Not the technical steps but what energy are we bringing into each task? We may know our ‘why’ but is this purpose woven into every word and action?

I’m finding it difficult to think of many people who aren’t plagued with busyness right now. As we speed through the day, throwing, catching and juggling endless balls it’s easy to get blinkered by the to-do list, to prioritise achievement over contribution, the professional over the personal. I know there are times when I catch myself seeing other people as ‘just another task’ to complete or a distraction from ‘more important’ things and in these moments of awareness I really question the life I’ve built. But at the same time, I also feel immense gratitude for the training Zen Leader has opened up for me that slowly knits together these moments of awareness, building a momentum for change that feels inevitable and so very welcome. In 2024, I’m going to keep sitting with the word ‘how’:  how do I consciously show up in each moment, how do I care for other people and our planet and how do I support the work of Zen Leader? By paying close attention to the ‘how’, the ‘what’ that emerges will, I’m sure, be what it needs to be.

Help us reach and change more of the world with this training.

Jen Ayres is a Zen Leadership Practitioner.

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