As I sit to write this post, I am accompanied by a country music play list that created recently via an online music service and a dram of Laphroaig Quarter Cask. Strictly following the advice of the distiller, I am enjoying this single malt responsibly!!
Below, I've inserted a few pictures in this blog of scenes around Corrymeela. These do not relate to any specific in the content of the post, but give you an idea of some of the things I get to see every day.
Reflections
When walking along the beach (where else?) a couple of days ago, I reflected on the simple fact that I am here on the north coast of Northern Ireland doing something that is truly unique and being able to make a contribution to important work. Coming here with few expectations, this experience continues to be enriching in so many ways.
When my consulting work slowed down significantly a bit over two years ago, I have to say that I found this unsettling. In looking back, however, I certainly didn't envision the things that I've done since then. The Habitat for Humanity work in various countries over the past couple of years has been extremely satisfying and to add the Corrymeela experience on top of this I feel very blessed. While I still value my consulting work and the great people I get to work with and want to continue doing this, it's important to not miss these great volunteering opportunities.
Corrymeela Happenings
Since my last post, I have been involved with some interesting stuff. I have taken on a couple of small projects that are using my professional experience in communications and organizational strategy. These involve strategy development and writing skills - two things that I truly enjoy.
On Friday, I was part of a team that facilitated a number of activities with 60+ teens in the 12-14 year age range. Working with groups of 10 to 12 kids, the goal was to undertake a range of outdoor activities that provided opportunities for leadership to surface and be a topic of discussion. In reality, these activities were mostly about team work and it was very interesting to see how these young folks responded.
I was responsible for a station that involved having groups lower a stick (approx. six feet in length) from chest level to the ground. Groups were split into equal numbers on each side of the stick and each person held out their index fingers so that the stick rested on top of the fingers. Then, I placed the stick on their index fingers, with their task being to lower the stick to the ground with all index fingers maintaining contact with the stick all the way. If contact is lost or people tried to use tactics to grasp the stick, they had to start over. In theory, it seems like a really straightforward, maybe even simple, task. In reality, it is extremely difficult and requires teamwork and typically for someone taking charge. It really is a combination of teamwork and leadership. I have been familiar with this activity for a long time and, at the outset with every group over the years, the stick is lifted up, not down (that's likely what it is called Helium Stick). Some people found this very frustrating and gave up. Conversely, others really embraced the challenge and stayed with it until the mission was accomplished.
Working again in groups of 10 to 12 kids, we moved to discussions about leadership. These discussions covered things like examples of good leadership, poor leadership and the qualities of good leaders. Each group produced a poster of pictures, drawings and words that reflected what they thought reflected good leadership, including examples of people they considered to be good leaders. Believe it or not, the biggest challenge with this activity was to get the kids to talk. Things changed dramatically, however, when it came to creating the poster. All it took was for one person to start and then others quickly joined in.
Sidebar
I'm going to insert a few pictures here moving to the rest of the text.
The building in which I am living (Coventry).
Three buildings below used for creative, arts and recreational activities, including disco music/dance sessions!!
The view to the Centre from one of the gardens. Walk through the garden several times a day.
From 8:00 pm on Friday until late morning today, I was part of a team that supported a wide range of activities for a group of about 40 young people (15-18 years of age) that were on site to work on ways to gain attention and support for ending child poverty. These young people are from Derry and Belfast, where they are working in a variety of ways at the local level to elevate the profile of the impact of poverty on children. Their efforts are connected to the work of Save The Children.
They are an impressive group of people!!!!!
In addition to some team building and other fun physical activities, their program had a big focus on communications/public relations. This too provided many opportunities to draw from my professional experience to help them with their planning and strategy work. It really is good to be around young people who are not held back in their thinking and strategies based upon years of experience. While I added value to what they were doing, I also learned a lot from them.
The hours were long and there was a lot to do, but I really enjoyed these young people. I was drawn to them for many reasons - their enthusiasm, energy, creativity, sense of fun and play, openness and care for each other. There are many social and political challenges in Northern Ireland and it is encouraging to see people like this are making a difference. It's impossible to find the words to describe the weekend's experience, but I simply liked being around all these young people. Lots of substantive conversations sprinkled with laughter and fun.
Thanks for reading this post. I'm closing this post with a picture I took about 10 days at Corrymeela as it seems like a good sign-off. Reminds me of the children's book "Goodnight Moon."
Ernie
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