“Guard your light and protect it. Move it forward into the world and be fully confident that if we connect light to light to light, and join the lights together, we will be enough to set our whole planet aglow."
~ Hafsat Abiola
Thank you for sharing your questions with ‘Ask a Life Designer.’ I’ve enjoyed connecting with you and am seeing that, even in widely different circumstances, and while apart, we continue to be connected through our shared experiences. Even though these days may feel heavy, and we are separated from many of our loved ones, we are surrounded by resilience and kindness and gratitude and inspiration. We are still lights for one another.
Many of the questions I received fall into two broad categories. The first involves the logistical questions about how to organize and manage things. These include questions about how to work at home, often while also caring for children, how to respond to the changing work landscape by pivoting careers and business, and how to plan for the future when things are so uncertain.
The second category reflects our desire to make meaning of what is happening in our lives, and around the world. These are questions about who we want to be during this time, and in what way we want to allow this experience to shape who we will become and how we would like to live. This excerpt from the poem, Traveler, by Antonio Machado seems more relevant than ever, as we navigate our way through these uncertain times: “Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking”.
The ideas, principles, and strategies of life design and permaculture can provide some useful guidance for responding to these questions. In permaculture, we always begin by observing before we build or garden or farm so we understand the landscape, environment, and ecology. In life design, we also begin by observing so we understand and know ourselves and our personal landscape and ecology. Following are two questions that will serve as a guide as you begin the process of designing your life.
1. What are your core values?
The foundation of the life design process, and where we always begin, is to clearly articulate our core values. Ask yourself, what is most important, meaningful, and valuable to you, and record your responses. Your values will guide you in your future decisions as you consider whether the choices you are making, and the direction you are going, is in line with what is most meaningful to you. A clearly articulated set of personal values provides a compass as you navigate transitions and immerse yourself in what feels purposeful and authentic. Try creating a sort of manifesto of your values that is clear and succinct.
2. What is working well for you?
In life design, we emphasize a strength based and solution focused orientation, so we apply an appreciative inquiry lens to exploring what is working for us. Because our human brains have a bias toward negativity, we are often more aware of what is not working. While this is likely a product of our evolutionary biology, and helped us to stay safe at times, it’s more useful in this context to be aware of what is working well in our lives, and build on that. Over the next couple of weeks, pay close attention to when you are feeling energized and engaged, and record what you were doing, where you were, who you were with, and any other details. At the end of each week, look this over and write down what patterns you are noticing.
Please feel free to reach out about any of this and please continue to submit your questions, comments, and thoughts anytime. In a couple of weeks, I’ll share the next steps. For now, I’ll end with one of my favourite quotes from Thomas King’s brilliant Dead Dog Café.
‘Stay calm, be brave, wait for the signs’.
