The blue heron on the creek bank in Boulder, CO, was in the shadows. He was not exactly hiding, he was positioned to get what he needed – a fish. I’ve watched a heron follow a big fish for an hour trying to decide whether he could take it and never actually attempting it. This is what herons do. Is this what we do too?
Do we wait in the shadows for sustenance to show up? I spent this weekend at Keepers of the Flame, a special retreat for tenured Vistage Chairs where we explored how to be a Master in the Art of Living. Breaking out into 4 different discussion groups over 2 days, we worked on ourselves. The beliefs we hold around “what is”, what we are taking for granted and where we sensed we needed to tweak our lives to be better.
The wisdom, caring and safety in the room was amazing. These are people with high intelligence of the head, heart and gut who are driven to keep on learning and growing. When asked where they “are letting the old person in” the groan was universal. In my break-out session, I admitted that I get furious inside when folks tell me they are too old to learn something new (like AI or how to use a new app on their phone). We were gifted the term “comfortable stagnation”. Speaking our thoughts out loud, we get to be guided by our wise peers to go deeper. The lovely question, that came after a colleague looked me deep in the eyes and probed if there was something else, got me in touch with sadness totally unrelated to the topic. I was seen way beyond my words and my blindspots in an environment of support and safety A place of nourishment of the soul.
May I suggest you send a little time this week reflecting alone or with someone you trust on where you are too comfortable in the shadows.
And, if you are a 10 year+ Vistage Chair, we meet in Boulder next year from June 24-26, 2027.
If you don’t think Vistage peer groups get value at every meeting-from the speakers, the conversations, a wise Chair, and the input from your peers, don’t click here.