Being a mathematician, I’m intrigued by the circle from a mathematical perspective, but really, only for so long. In the last week, however, circles keep finding their way into my regular life, and I find myself newly intrigued.
My yoga instructor, Mona, switched things up at the end of October. For our Halloween class, she had us place our mats in a circle, facing inward. We had candles in the centre to really set the mood. What was supposed to be a one-time thing, has turned into a new way for us to be in the class. With the mats in a circle and us facing each other, the difference in energy in the room is completely different, better. Instead of us each simply coming to class, facing forward, and being self-centred, we became a group. It’s rather amazing. Mona hasn’t switched how she delivers the class. We don’t chit chat with each other during class. We are still each self-centred. Yet somehow, we have become a group. There is a feeling that we care about one another, rather than us simply occupying a space together.
This week we also had our Chinook Country dancer’s Christmas party. This marks the end of our fall season of lessons, and marks the beginning of our Christmas performances. The party was wonderful. We had the hall filled with all the dancers, mingling and dancing together. One tradition at this party is that each year about ten dancers secretly prepare a special dance that they perform at the beginning of the party. This year, I was part of that group. Our song was… wait for it… Come on Barbie. We practiced for weeks and arrived in full Barbie regalia. From Birthday Barbie, to Golf Barbie, to Workout Barbie to Western Barbie, to me, Construction Barbie, we danced our way around the stage to cheers and laughter and clapping. Afterward, I was changing out of my Barbie work boots into more comfortable dance shoes when I heard the announcement for our dance called Fishers. I LOVE this dance. I love the music, and the flow of the dance, but most of all I love that we almost always perform it standing in a circle; two concentric circles actually, one large circle on the outside facing in, and a smaller circle on the inside facing out. I usually stand in the outer circle. From there I love the view I have of all the dancers in our group.
Upon hearing the first notes of the song I quickly shook off my boots, put on my runners and joined the circle. For three minutes I breathed in the incredible energy of this group. Smiling across and around the circle at the other women brings such a flood of emotion to me. I have a feeling of being part of something much larger than myself, something special and powerful. It feels like we have safety and support in this group. I feel like we are each seen when we are in this formation; seen as individuals, seen as human beings all walking together, seen as friends, and seen as supports for one another. I wish I had the right words to describe this magic.
I had one other circle experience this past week. I was working in Ontario with a small group of leaders. Around a table we sat for four days. The energy here was the same. We were working, and yet we were bound together in the work, and with each other. In this group too was support, a common purpose, and a kindness extending well beyond professional ‘niceness’.
It cannot be a coincidence that all my different groups, ranging from five to twenty to seventy, all contained such great energy, and that all left me with such a feeling of deep belonging. I’m beginning to think it has something to do with the circle.
When we organize ourselves in circles, it’s hard to remain isolated. It’s hard to pretend we don’t notice others. It is hard to avoid being seen. There is a strong feeling of connectedness, perhaps even a feeling of responsibility for caring for the others who stand with us.
This has led me to think about the importance of circles in our lives. We often speak about our circle of friends, or our circle of colleagues, or our circle of acquaintances, or our circle of influence. At the same time, we often behave as if we are standing in rows, all facing forward, rather than sharing a circle with these people. When we ‘stand in rows’ it’s easy to not see. It’s easy to remain self-focused. It’s easy to feel isolated.
I propose that every once in a while, if we stood, or sat, or danced, in a circle with each of the groups in our lives and did nothing more than look at one another for a few minutes, we would improve our connections, our productivity, our feelings of belonging, our self-worth, our commitment to caring, and our strength as a community.
This weekend I plan to sit in another circle. Our family is gathering for a pre-Christmas get together. I can hardly wait to sit and look across the table at each of us as we share meals, play games and talk. It’ll be a good chance to catch up, to hear about the busy lives of everyone, and to remind ourselves of how lucky we are to be part of this precious circle.
December and Christmas are rushing toward us. May you find time to be with and to appreciate each of your circles.
My inquiry for you this week is, 'Who is in my circle?'
Elizabeth is a certified professional Leadership Coach, and the owner of Critchley Coaching. She is the founder and president of the Canadian charity, RDL Building Hope Society. She works with corporations, non-profits and the public sector, providing leadership coaching. She creates and facilitates custom workshops for all sizes of groups and has expertise in facilitating Strategic Plans for organizations. Contact Elizabeth to learn how to create meaningful circles.
My yoga instructor, Mona, switched things up at the end of October. For our Halloween class, she had us place our mats in a circle, facing inward. We had candles in the centre to really set the mood. What was supposed to be a one-time thing, has turned into a new way for us to be in the class. With the mats in a circle and us facing each other, the difference in energy in the room is completely different, better. Instead of us each simply coming to class, facing forward, and being self-centred, we became a group. It’s rather amazing. Mona hasn’t switched how she delivers the class. We don’t chit chat with each other during class. We are still each self-centred. Yet somehow, we have become a group. There is a feeling that we care about one another, rather than us simply occupying a space together.
This week we also had our Chinook Country dancer’s Christmas party. This marks the end of our fall season of lessons, and marks the beginning of our Christmas performances. The party was wonderful. We had the hall filled with all the dancers, mingling and dancing together. One tradition at this party is that each year about ten dancers secretly prepare a special dance that they perform at the beginning of the party. This year, I was part of that group. Our song was… wait for it… Come on Barbie. We practiced for weeks and arrived in full Barbie regalia. From Birthday Barbie, to Golf Barbie, to Workout Barbie to Western Barbie, to me, Construction Barbie, we danced our way around the stage to cheers and laughter and clapping. Afterward, I was changing out of my Barbie work boots into more comfortable dance shoes when I heard the announcement for our dance called Fishers. I LOVE this dance. I love the music, and the flow of the dance, but most of all I love that we almost always perform it standing in a circle; two concentric circles actually, one large circle on the outside facing in, and a smaller circle on the inside facing out. I usually stand in the outer circle. From there I love the view I have of all the dancers in our group.
Upon hearing the first notes of the song I quickly shook off my boots, put on my runners and joined the circle. For three minutes I breathed in the incredible energy of this group. Smiling across and around the circle at the other women brings such a flood of emotion to me. I have a feeling of being part of something much larger than myself, something special and powerful. It feels like we have safety and support in this group. I feel like we are each seen when we are in this formation; seen as individuals, seen as human beings all walking together, seen as friends, and seen as supports for one another. I wish I had the right words to describe this magic.
I had one other circle experience this past week. I was working in Ontario with a small group of leaders. Around a table we sat for four days. The energy here was the same. We were working, and yet we were bound together in the work, and with each other. In this group too was support, a common purpose, and a kindness extending well beyond professional ‘niceness’.
It cannot be a coincidence that all my different groups, ranging from five to twenty to seventy, all contained such great energy, and that all left me with such a feeling of deep belonging. I’m beginning to think it has something to do with the circle.
When we organize ourselves in circles, it’s hard to remain isolated. It’s hard to pretend we don’t notice others. It is hard to avoid being seen. There is a strong feeling of connectedness, perhaps even a feeling of responsibility for caring for the others who stand with us.
This has led me to think about the importance of circles in our lives. We often speak about our circle of friends, or our circle of colleagues, or our circle of acquaintances, or our circle of influence. At the same time, we often behave as if we are standing in rows, all facing forward, rather than sharing a circle with these people. When we ‘stand in rows’ it’s easy to not see. It’s easy to remain self-focused. It’s easy to feel isolated.
I propose that every once in a while, if we stood, or sat, or danced, in a circle with each of the groups in our lives and did nothing more than look at one another for a few minutes, we would improve our connections, our productivity, our feelings of belonging, our self-worth, our commitment to caring, and our strength as a community.
This weekend I plan to sit in another circle. Our family is gathering for a pre-Christmas get together. I can hardly wait to sit and look across the table at each of us as we share meals, play games and talk. It’ll be a good chance to catch up, to hear about the busy lives of everyone, and to remind ourselves of how lucky we are to be part of this precious circle.
December and Christmas are rushing toward us. May you find time to be with and to appreciate each of your circles.
My inquiry for you this week is, 'Who is in my circle?'
Elizabeth is a certified professional Leadership Coach, and the owner of Critchley Coaching. She is the founder and president of the Canadian charity, RDL Building Hope Society. She works with corporations, non-profits and the public sector, providing leadership coaching. She creates and facilitates custom workshops for all sizes of groups and has expertise in facilitating Strategic Plans for organizations. Contact Elizabeth to learn how to create meaningful circles.
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