Creativity and rigor require excellent company, there’s just no two ways about it. Our recent gathering in Charlotte was combustible, glorious fuel for the fire I have to think about, design, and make ways for people to live great lives.
Even in the most dynamic places, folks tend to confine our imagination of a great life to realms of body, mind, and community. But soul matters too, perhaps even more than the rest, because engaging our soul means tapping into the fuel, commitment, care, and – dare I say it – love that every person needs.
Bringing bold ideas boldly to life requires qualities of heart as well as qualities of mind, right? That’s part of why soul matters to make a Great Life.
Sally and Brian at The Gambrell Foundation invite us to “go upstream” to the root of what ails our people and communities, up toward the sources of the problems we see and the gifts we can offer to solve them. When we bring soul into the field of view, we can push even further upstream, into the eddies through which all wisdom flows.
This isn’t simple or easy, inviting this kind of depth into the conversation. Because a lot of deep stuff lives in there, and it’s not all pretty. But it also gives us new ground to stand on, ground that invites us into deeper consideration of what this life is for, what we need to flourish, and that reminds us we are part of much larger and longer stories.
I mean, why would we leave our ancestors out of our great lives?
I left our time together thinking harder than ever about how to find more depth, especially when we gather. It’s a hard problem, figuring out how to invite people to engage their own and others’ souls when so much conspires to keep us separate.
Goodness isn’t just action, not just doing. It’s a quality of heart first and last. Infusing our gatherings with soul-centered grounding and design can help us remember that.