Conversations with a centre

Conversations with a centre
William Issaac, in his book, Dialogue and the art of thinking together, said that “Dialogue….is a conversation with a centre, not sides. It is a way of taking the energy of our differences and channeling it toward something that has never been created before.”

Conversations with a centre

This image represents the key to having successful outcomes when we move from positions and issues and shift to the centre as we  engage in dialogue with colleagues, peers, customers and direct reports.

Interested in more info & programs on the skills of engagment? Go to my personal development site at authenticdialogue.com

Bently sky

I was attracted to this vehicle with the intention of capturing a sense of opulence in motion. Is life different on the other side? If you owned this car, would you look differently at the world passing by through the tinted windows? Or is it only a perspective existing in the minds of those outside?

Opulence in motion

Bently sky is opulence in motion. What is your perspective?

Gooney Bird

The C-47 Skytrain, and variants known as the Dakota in South Africa, was one of the aircraft from which I jumped out of during my military service in the No1 Parachute Battalion.

Good ol' Gooney Bird

Time for nostalgia.

Dervish

I found this gyrating dervish in a communal veggie garden in North Vancouver. The wind was moaning gently and the dervish responded.

Gyrating dervish

What first appeared to be a problem i.e. wind, turned into an opportunity to see my subject afresh through the lens. The lens is the sage.

Stanley Park, Vancouver

It’s 31 Oct, a beautiful autumn day in Vancouver. And its Halloween. I decide to spend a couple of hours in Stanley Park. All over Vancouver people, young and old, are dressed up as monsters and witches. And some are prowling around Stanley Park.

While avoiding the witches and monsters, I stumbled upon this autumn scene.

Autumn in Stanley Park

An hour later, as the sun was quite low on the horizon, I found this majestic cedar stump next to a small stream. The tree must be at least 500 years old.

Majestic Red Cedar

There are many of these trees still growing in the park. They symbolize our future. They are our future. Cutting them down in old growth forests is a crime against everyone’s future.

A few days earlier, Tracy, a colleague and friend of mine told me about this tree at the Northlands Golf Course in North Vancouver. We were both working on a project for a client and although it was a cloudy day, the sun came out just after we arrived at the scene. The soft light seemed to symbolize the success of our upcoming program [still being designed at that stage]. It also symbolised the theme we were working on – change and renewal.

Season's Sentinel

Ideas and metaphors

One of the ideas I have been wrestling with for about a year now is how to combine my love of photography with my speaking and facilitation at AuthenticDialogue.com. It’s slowly dawning on me that I have many photographs that I can use as metaphors to illustrate concepts and evoke learning.

The photograph below is called “An emerging idea.” It illustrates the point that my sense of internal clarity, my way of showing up in the world is an emerging one, more like a journey than a sudden flash of providential insight.

An emerging idea

The photograph below illustrates where I’m moving to. I’m standing up among the mists of tempting and evocative alternatives. My identity of who I am is more evident, my sense of internal clarity is manifesting and my message is become more distinct.

A single idea

I’m learning that less is more and when I am passionate and clear about a single idea, my audiences get it. When I am not clear, the results show. As one speaker, Ian Percy put it, relevancy = revenue. Are you clear about your idea? Does it bring you revenue? Let me know.

Punts

Jared [my son] took me for a walk along the river Cam to the orchard at Granchester where they serve teas and scones. It is a lovely meandering 3km route along the river.

Jared

On the way back we stopped at a pub for a few beers and I took these photographs of the punts below the pub.

Canoes and punts

Another view from the pub

The next day, I spotted this man making his way along the river. Compared to the tourists, he was obviously and expert.

Punting down the river . . .

Last few days in Cambridge, UK

It was a bit of a process to get this photograph of the chapel at St. John’s College at the University of Cambridge. The authorities do not allow anyone to enter the grounds with a tripod. I had to get special permission at the College office after convincing them I was not a commercial photographer and pointing out that I would be using natural light, and no flash, thus the need for a tripod.

Chapel at St. John's College, University of Cambridge

The Bridge of Sighs is one of the most photographed in Cambridge. It is a covered bridge belonging to St John’s College of Cambridge University. It was built in 1831 and crosses the River Cam between the college’s Third Court and New Court [Wikipedia]. This view is looking towards the raised floor of the bridge through the arches.

Towards the Bridge of Sighs, over the river Cam

After taking the previous photograph, I turned around 180 degrees and captured this view looking the opposite way. Coming from Vancouver, where most heritage buildings are made of wood, the rich stonework is a feast for the eyes.

Rich stonework and doorway to an inner courtyard

Ireland – Glendalough

This monring Alasdair and Doug took me to Glendalough Valley, located in the Wicklow Mountains National Park. Glendalough (Gleann Dá Loch, meaning “Glen of Two Lakes”) is a glacial valley located in County Wicklow, renowned for its medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and destroyed in 1398 by English troops [Wikipedia].

The Upper Lake at Glendalough.

We crossed a small stream to get to the Reefert Church. I spent a wonderful 30 minutes wandering around the ruins and taking photographs from various angles.

The path up to Reefert Church

According to Dr Deborah Vess, this church dates from the tenth century and is the burial place of the O’Toole family, seven of whose princes are buried on the grounds. The Church is known as “The Burial Place of Kings.” One of the reasons why so many princes were buried here is the possibility that this was the location of Kevin’s tomb

Reefert Church

The following series of photographs are different views of the Reefert Church, now without its roof.

Reefert Church from the path

According to Dr Deborah Vess, The earliest life of Kevin, first recorded in the eleventh century, tells us that an angel visited Kevin and told him to move “eastward of the lesser lake” and there he would have his place of resurrection. The local chieftain Dima and his eight sons helped Kevin more there, and Kevin told them, “My sons, cut away the thorns and thistles and make a beautiful spot of this place, for here you yourselves will be interred, for here there will be erected after some time a temple in my name and under its altar you will be interred.”

Reefert Church through the window

Reefert Church through the archway.

Reefert Church through the archway

Another view.

Reefert Church

Ireland – Donabate

Here’s a view from the beach at Donabate looking towards Ireland’s Eye just outside of Dublin. Ireland’s Eye is a small island off the coast of County Dublin.

The beach at Donabate looking towards Ireland's Eye