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.
Looking forward to becoming “aware” on The Porch. Thanks for your (new) insight John. Wishing you the best in your work, home, community and life.
Denny … nice to hear from you. Happy New Year! Grateful for your encouragement. See you on the porch!!
Some of the greatest insights and profound peace happen as I sit amongst the sounds of farming snd nature… on my glider, on my porch. Look forward to this transformation.
Jolene … what a beautiful farm it is. Great memories of being on your porch and in your swing! The perfect place for expanding awareness. Thank you for sharing this visual and stirring great memories too!
I like the new name, perfect for what feels like more than a new year. 2020 seems futuristic to me, not just a day older than the last day of the previous year 2019. But, no more newsletters?
I haven’t seen you lately at St. MM, but hopefully will soon. If you haven’t seen “The Two Popes” on Netflix, I recommend it. My next job is to fact check it. But, the show addresses some of my bigger concerns.
John, I wish all the Blumbergs a year filled with peace and joy.
Gina
Gina … thanks for your reply. No more newsletters, much more connection! I hope you will continue to enjoy THE PORCH in a new way and invite others to subscribe in as well. And thanks for mentioning “The Two Popes” … at your prompting, I watched it on Netflix last night. A beautiful movie on so many levels. Hope to see you at SMMP again soon … I’m there this week! 🙂 Awesome New Year to all the Johnsons too! PS … I have updated our database as you requested!
Sometimes I feel like you are talking and thinking way above anything I know or have experienced but I always am interested in what you have to say and your “perspective.” Thursdays will continue to fill my inbox with good stuff.
Gerry … always grateful for your hanging-out on THE PORCH with me! SO grateful you will still be there too! 🙂
John – Thank you for the many sharings and I wish you well as you migrate to a different approach. The integrity concept has never been an issue with you. Please continue to insights to keep us aligned. It only takes a few small nuggets per year to help each of us grow with you.
Kevin … great to hear from you. I appreciate your comments and your encouragement. Looking forward to an evolving version of THE PORCH experience where we can all grow together! Happy New Year.
John, I look forward to “The Porch” every month. And in my mind, every subject you have covered is relevant to business, because business is conducted by people. Do you think “practical minds” are those unaware (!) of other dimensions of experience? Would a practical mind decide to invest in landing humans on the moon? I am not sure!
Jack Bigelow
Jack … thanks for sitting on the porch! Grateful for your comments. You make an excellent point … and in doing so reminding me that YOU have always been both practical AND insightful. So look forward to seeing you later this month.
John, thank you for inviting the new to emerge. It dawned on me today for the first time that your ‘porch’ is not unlike Mikey’s ‘bench’ in that it deepens our awareness and presence and it is available anywhere and anytime, based on our waking up to it! Thank you for always going deeper.
Mary Jo … as soon as I came across that cover picture I thought of Mikey’s bench and the shared awareness we have gained there. Grateful for you and your encouragement along this journey. I’m looking forward to THE PORCH being a place we can all connect and learn from each other! Happy New Year!
John, I look forward to reflecting on your words. I always read your thoughts at the end of my day so I can reflect on my drive home.
Happy New Year to you and your family.
Maryann
Maryann … always so great to hear from you!! Thanks for continuing to sit on THE PORCH with me. Grateful for you being there late in the day and continuing to be there through your reflection on your ride home. Wishing you a wonderful New Year too!
The Porch will join Richard Rohr as my go-to’s for contemplative reading. I like where you are headed.
Steve … wow, I’m humbled to be in that great company. Richard and YOU! So grateful for you being on THE PORCH … a joy to be there with you. Happy New Year!
John, I look forward to this evolution of a valuable “place” or “places” of encounter, understanding, and growth. You are an amazing facilitator of those for so many – certainly including me.
Bev … forever grateful for YOU and your encouragement every step of this journey. Your brave example has helped me further my PURPOSE each step of the way. Happy New Year!
John, someone once said “The only constant is change!” Your thoughts on changes at the start of a new decade is totally “John”:-)
Here are some of my thoughts about “awareness”. . .
So many times I spend my a lot of my time becoming more aware of others, and far too often judging their faults and foibles. How much more aware can I become if I spend more time becoming more self-aware? My blessings? My faults? My foibles? Based on your inspiration, in 2020, I’m going to work of becoming more self-aware AND more aware of the blessings of others:-)
Happy New Year!
Rick … grateful for your words of awareness. So deeply true and worth returning to again and again. Happy New Year to you too!
What I love about you, John, is your awareness of your own knowingness, your willingness to continue to evolve, and your wantingness to lean into trusting your own truth. No doubt The Porch will be a grounding place AND a launching place for so many of us. We are grateful.
Hello, John!
Thanks for taking another leap to help expand our understanding of how integrity can be the core for our daily lives in business. I am happy to stop by the porch whenever I can!
John
I like the simplicity… Made me reflect on the purpose of a porch and what/who might be behind the door..
Best wishes this year to you and your family
Warren
Wow! As usual….you have shared something that has been stirring in me also…but put it to perfect words! I think as we start a new year we immediately want to think about where we will go, what we will accomplish…but instead need to FULLY occupy the current seat we find ourselves in!
You have hit it on the head John—awareness is what we need so badly today. Matthew Fox calls it the coming of the Cosmic Christ. Fox writes, “The coming together of the historical Jesus and the Cosmic Christ will make Christianity whole at last…(since) it has been out of touch with its ‘core,’its center, its sense of mystical practice and cosmic awareness…a patriarchal mindset that has eroded its worship, message, and identity rendering them flat and lifeless.” As TS Elliot wrote, “What we call the beginning is often the end and to make an end is to make a beginning.The end is where we start from.”