Clear Skies Ahead
Hello February (It’s almost March!) and Happy New Year.
I’ve missed you and this forum.
If you noticed a gap in the White Space newsletter cadence, it’s because …
I was in a fog. A creative/mental fog that came from pushing hard (maybe too hard?) and running fast (maybe too fast?) throughout 2024. There was also a physical haze that came with the wildfires of last month, that “weight” the body experiences in response to calamitous, unexpected events. While our home and family were among the very fortunate, many dear friends (and whole communities) lost everything in the devastation. There was a fog over my hometown of 33 years in the form of ash, and with all that rubble, collectively frayed nerves.
So last week I leaned into the medicine that has always helped me when I feel this kind of malaise. I walked.
I cleared one afternoon and ventured to Angeles National Forest for what will now become a regular adventure – a solo hike up the mountain.
Just driving to the park, the cobwebs began to fall. I suddenly had access to ideas that hadn’t felt within reach only hours before. On the walk itself, those ideas… started to have ideas. At one point, they were coming in so clearly, with such volume, I had to stop at one of two benches the National Park Service had conveniently placed along the otherwise desolate trail, and make some notes.
I'd been listening to ambient music (Ludovico Einaudi’s Seven Days Walking) while I hiked, but during my notes break, had the impulse to switch to a business leadership book I’d read before (Trillion Dollar Coach – which I highly recommend.) But I quickly recognized something important, as the book played. When you have the opportunity to “listen” to what the universe has to say, don’t interrupt it with content - no matter how good it may be. I had disrupted an important process; closing the door on a portal, of sorts.
So back came the light music.
And with it, my flow state.
As I gained altitude, the clouds began to break. I was above the haze of the city, the blue sky my backdrop. A mile later at bench 2 of 2, I stopped to take off my sweatshirt. As I rolled it up to put it in my backpack, I noticed a label sewn into the inside that read, “Clarity is the ultimate currency.” I had never seen the message before. Serendipitous, since the hike was providing a vortex of ideas and mental models I couldn’t see previously. A woman I worked with many years ago introduced me to the concept that “Money is currency and currency is energy.” This newfound clarity certainly was currency – an energy that I can still feel and will continue to cultivate on future walks.
A reminder to all of us that we all have “medicine” that resets a mental funk. Mine is walking. For others, it might be getting in the ocean, reading, or baking. We rely on these resets for a reason, which is - they always reveal something we need to see and hear - but we have to get far enough away from the world in which our blockage was created to “receive” the message.
Wishing you blue skies, clear thinking and much joy in 2025 (and March!)
There are those that are not yet out of the haze of the fires. So many have lost so much. If you’d like to help, here is one of my favorite groups doing incredible work - One Voice. They are helping workers who have lost their jobs due to the disastrous fires.
If we’re meeting for the first time, I help companies and their executives get clear on what sustainable growth can look like for them. Reply to this note with a story of how you gained clarity for yourself or your organization. I’d love to connect.
Happy Trails…BG