digdeep

Eighteen years ago, I sat in front of a blank screen to compose the first issue of The Front Porch newsletter. The idea was simple – a monthly newsletter designed to be a “place” to sit and ponder the issues of business and life.

At the time, with the fresh turn of a new century and surviving the threat of “Y2K”, the great sense of hope in the air seemed plausible. Yet, with a world more connected and change coming faster than we had ever experienced, it seemed the concept of discussions on any “front porch” would be a continual reminder of the growing and on-going need for perspective.

Maybe a little nostalgic by design, it seemed like a front porch was a wonderful metaphorical place to sit from time-to-time to nourish that perspective. Sitting on the porch can widen your perspective or simply deepen it.  I suppose it depends on who you’re sitting with. And it depends on if you genuinely care to hear their perspective even when you don’t fully understand it.  And especially when you can’t seem to understand their perspective at all. It depends on so many things. Including our own perspective. Perspective can serve our own purposes.  One definition of perspective shines a light on this:  the state of one’s ideas, the facts known to one, etc., in having a meaningful interrelationship. While certainly useful, it can drift to a place self-serving.

Somehow perspective no longer seems to be enough.

 

Nor does a “newsletter” called The Front Porch. I have felt it for some time and possibly let it seep through the evolving nature of the content of this month-to-month newsletter. I have tried to go deeper at the risk of becoming vague. Frequently more vulnerable.  I know that many may question: How in the world does this serve business?  The better question may actually be: How in the world does business serve life?

I ask that question from a very practical standpoint. I think if we could genuinely answer that question, organizations would stop wasting millions of dollars on old facades packaged with new veneers. We would start digging into possibilities we don’t initially understand. We would push through fears of scarcity that create compliance and control while confidently unleashing that of which we are uncertain. That will take a lot more than perspective.

It will take awareness.

 

Through my deep exploration of integrity, I have learned that integrity is simply impossible to know and understand without greater awareness. In so many ways, integrity and awareness depend on each other.  Some days I wonder if they are one and the same.

So, with that, I felt some changes were necessary and appropriate:

  • No more newsletters. This will simply be a place of connection and I will do all I creatively can to honor that. Look for other voices and a curation of insights.
  • Drop the “front” to metaphorically eliminate a sense of place. I hope that you will come to think of “a porch” as any place, or any moment, or anyone that enriches your awareness. To encourage that, this monthly connection will simply be known as “The Porch” and the images used each month will be purposely selected to encourage you to see porches anywhere and everywhere. These too will be a curation of images submitted by others.
  • Content won’t always seem relevant to the practical mind. A new sense of awareness rarely does at first. The intent will always be to provide valuable content whether it seems immediately relevant or not.

Most importantly, every ounce of this connection will be intended to invite you into a deeper sense of integrity in its purest form of expression. That, in itself, will be relevant to your work, your home, your community and your life.  I am certain about that.

I realize a practical voice may be calling you to UNSUBSCRIBE and click the option CONTENT NO LONGER RELEVANT.  My hope is that you would precisely do just the opposite – instead, intentionally stepping-out to invite others to join in.

It sure seems that 2020 is the perfect year to open ourselves to a greater awareness.  And I look forward to being with you on “the porch” wherever, whenever and with whomever it may be. Especially on the First Thursday of each month.  Yes, that stays the same!

I’d love to hear your thoughts, insights, comments below … and will look forward to receiving images of porches that you see – porches in whatever form they may appear!

In the meantime, wishing you a New Year filled with meaningful experiences and ever-expanding awareness.