Recovering Resonance: A Watershed Way

The intersection of meaningful work, personal integrity, livable income and healthy community fascinates me. In my first job, selling popcorn in a movie theater, my manager called me into the office to tell me that my aura was grey. To him that meant I wasn’t working out at the job. He didn’t fire me, but I was never comfortable at the job after that. I did however develop a lifelong love of movies and popcorn. I was a little traumatized by that observation. Unsure how to improve my aura I worked harder at being cheerful and providing great customer service. That was never good enough for him. Many years later I learned the grey aura was a color of emerging intuition and was the color of monks and mystics I better understood the dilemma in those early days of work. I brought a different vibration to work. I had a different resonant frequency from what was expected. I almost lost my resonance but learned to treasure my essential self and brought my self to work more every day.

Decades later a client assured me I was working too hard and just needed to be myself, “be a catalyst for change for those who wish to make a change for themselves and for their organizations” Well, he meant a chemical reaction kind of catalyst. I was not sure if that was a good thing. Again, I noticed feeling mildly traumatized but this time it was from being told that I could be paid for simply bringing the best of me to work. Imagine that, being paid to bring my best self to work!!

It was, and it is, a good thing to bring all our Self to our lives. Risking exposing our thoughts and feelings, being vulnerable, as Brene Brown talks about in Daring Greatly, opens the way for a sense of belonging. When we are being real and really being present then authentic relationships have the breathing space to develop. This being present includes being our imperfect selves as well as our best selves. The best gift any one can share at home and work is a listening presence. Sustained listening enables sustained being, in good times and in challenging times. Self-acceptance is grounded in the courage to show up.

Learning to show up happens when you feel the ground beneath your feet and experience a watershed change in spirit and mind. Watershed Ways offers ways for you to be listened to and to foster this change in your life. I will show up for work with you and we can enjoy the journey of your watershed change.