No. 6
January 2013

In This Issue

 
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Greetings!

Happy New Year!  Thank you for opening this email and reading the Fearless Conversations monthly newsletter.
My intent is to share information and ideas that may support and inspire us all to create a world in which fearless conversations are possible in our workplaces
and communities, in our families and among friends.

In this issue there is one short article and a favorite quote.  Also check out the "Empathy Tip" and "Just for
Fun or Interest".

In the few months I have been doing this newsletter, I have greatly appreciated your interest and feedback.  Thank you very much for reading and for passing this newsletter on to others.

Shyrl

 

A Moment of Remembrance
Readers of this newsletter living in the United States have been stunned and heartbroken by the horrific shootings of twenty little children and seven adults in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14th.  The theme I had planned for this January edition of the Fearless Conversations newsletter does not resonate with the numbing shock and the deep grief we hold in our hearts.  The timing moves me to want to use this space for only a few words, starting with those of the father of one of the murdered children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

          "Remember these beautiful children; keep them
           close to our hearts.  Do not let their bright shining
           faces become extinguished.  Let us do everything
           in our power to ensure their light will continue to
           shine brighter in all we do to remember them."
                  Robbie Parker, father of Emilie, 6 years old

It is a saying among Appreciative Inquiry practitioners that "words create worlds".   May the light of these children and their teachers radiate through the darkness of our seemingly impenetrable questions about how to free ourselves from violence once and for all.    May we find the words that will shine their light on fresh conversations that will commit us to creating the world we want to see.

What to Say or Not to Say
When the shootings first happened at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, advice was offered on the news and in school communities across the country about what to say or not to say to children.   Commonly, the first piece of advice was "Listen!" --- listen to your children --- take their lead.   Thinking about the power of listening, I want to offer this quote:

          "Listen as a creator, not as a file clerk . . .
           listen for the news that comes fresh from
           someone's being because you have opened
           up a space for it to be heard. . . the quality
           of your listening will affect the quality of
           what you hear; you will see that it is not
           passive at all.  [Your listening] has the
           capacity to peel away so much dead energy
           and to give life to fresh truth."                
                       James O'Dea, Cultivating Peace
                       Becoming a 21st Century Peace Ambassador 

 
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