Tsunami in Japan

After our very rich ALIA gathering at Mennorode

There is one thing can't settle in me : The way we collectivelly held the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan.

Yes I remember Toke and Wendy's face announcing the news to me

Yes we stopped for a minute of silence in a plennary session.

But I don't remember us collectively really stopping to take stock, explore what this means to us and to the world and together hold this event .

Yet I feel that to hold disaster is one of the things we will need to learn as authentic leaders.

And we need to learn that collectively.

Note :

at this end of this link there is a beautiful letter written in Sendai that gives a whole different meaning to the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGWAZVZG1TA

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Permalink Reply by Beth Follini on March 21, 2011 at 9:09am

Pierre - I very much agree with you. I know for myself, I couldn't really take in the news - it seemed so overwhelming. Plus it did feel like being in a bubble at ALIA - and there is something about feeling very removed from the world realities that did seem strange.

AND, on another note, I'm like to thank you personally so much for stepping in and volunteering to do the technical stuff at ALIA Europe. I think because you held it so seemlessly, that it was almost not noticeable how much you did. But on the last day, when you had to leave early, I really noticed your absence!!

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Permalink Reply by Mary Stacey on March 21, 2011 at 11:51am

Hi Pierre and Beth,

I wasn't at ALIA Europe, and from where I was, I found this columnist provided me with valuable perspective:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-patterson/how-do-we-respond...

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Permalink Reply by Pierre Goirand on March 21, 2011 at 1:49pm

Indeed The Tsunami raises the question of our interconnectedness : how do we truly experience it ?( Beyond the concept)

It raises the question of oyr power and lack of power : what is our power ?

It raises the questions of our response : what is our response ?

All those questions are both deeply individual and deeply collective.

As Beth said ALIA was like a bubble - I heard that of other participants -

If a gathering around Leadership in action feels like a bubble we also need to question ourselves; How can we be truly open to the world at the same time as to our inner being as we meet ?

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Permalink Reply by Susan Szpakowski on March 23, 2011 at 10:41am

Dear Pierre, Beth, Mary, it was also a vivid moment for me when I heard the news. I think we could have incorporated it into our morning mindfulness session more, by tuning in together to the shock and suffering and practicing a compassion meditation. I would have been less inclined to explore the meaning in dialogue. That would have been too quick for me, too much of an additional layer of interpretation before the reality could be assimilated, and before the events had even fully unfolded. As it was, I did feel a connection even while being in our bubble.

Too much bubble is isolating and leads to group think, but some bubble helps to create a shared world that is outside the momentum of our busy lives. I began to feel a timeless, deeply connected quality towards the end, and to me this is the right kind of bubble :-) My experience is that it accelerates and empowers intentions and actions that come out the other side.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Szpakowski on March 29, 2011 at 8:05am

Pierre and all, you may want to check out Bob Stilger's blog about the Berkana, Art of Hosting and ALIA connections in Japan, which have been growing over the past couple of years and which are now mobilizing. See http://resilientcommunities.org/ Bob has also written an article for Fieldnotes, hopefully coming out later today.