Our Relationship: It’s not just about You and Me
Sometimes we forget that we are part of something bigger. This can happen anytime. When we are in conflict, we tend to focus on the person we are in conflict with. There is something more, though, that speaks to our relationship. Our relationship Our relationship is not only about you and me. It’s also about [...]
Are you ready for the unexpected?
How do you respond when someone throws a wrench into your day? Here’s how one classical musician responded, after a Nokia ring tone went off in the middle of his performance… (thanks to my local fiddler/composer friend, Paul Gitlitz, for bringing this to my attention). (If the video not displaying, click here) I found this [...]
U Connect: The Art of Making Connections to Resolve Disputes
I published my 2nd e-book this week, on Amazon. It’s titled: U Connect: The Art of Making Connections to Resolve Disputes. It’s a consolidation of some my observations, along with insights I’ve culled from others, around “making connections”. Here’s the Table of Contents and here’s the Introduction section: “Disputes happen. How do we respond? One [...]
The Mediation ‘Sweet Spot’
A mediation is like a good holiday. Here’s why… —————————————————————- A weekend vacation trip does not give enough time to find the holiday ‘sweet spot’. Bruce Kirkby wrote a great article in last weekend’s Globe & Mail about the holiday ‘sweet spot’. As a veteran outdoors trip guide, he knows all about the magic and [...]
2011 Favourites and Best Wishes for 2012
Happy New Year! Thank you for giving me, and this blog, your attention over the last year. I’ve enjoyed connecting with you, many of you personally, and look forward to what new beginnings, and continuing adventures, 2012 offers us. Here are the most visited blog posts on Collaborative Journeys in 2011: Strategies to reduce the [...]
10 Holiday Gift Book Ideas for the “Mediator” in Your Life
I enjoy reading books. They are a safe way to explore the ideas and works of others. And, a really good book is inspiring. It seems to connect on a personal and emotional level; a connection that can motivate one to further thought and action. Here are ten of the books I read in 2011, [...]
I “don’t know” and I’m going to run with that
I felt crappy even before the face-to-face mediation began, this week. Fighting some seasonal bug, I was hoping the mediation would be a short one, no matter the outcome, and I would soon be on my way home, to a hot apple cider and a bed. It was not a short one. Yet, what kept [...]
Silence: Pattern Interruptus
When conflict is all around, resolution seems distant, and the voices ring loud, sometimes the best way forward is to say nothing… silence. As a mediator, I’ve found silence can be an effective pattern interrupt technique, a way to break impasse, especially if the parties in a dispute aren’t listening well, are locked onto negativity, [...]
The Many Perspectives on Aging
A lot happens on the edges. As we get close to the far edge of our life, it’s an opportunity to look back, and reflect on what happened, and be true to oneself. Listening and interacting with older people (older than me, anyways)… or my elders, as I prefer to relate to them, can be [...]
Circles: In Life and Death
We gathered in concentric circles, like the rings on a tree that show its age, in a small community hall this week, to sing songs that celebrated our friend, who had just died. With those in the innermost circle leading the songs, we sang together, folk favourites of the deceased. Combined with other remembrances, food, [...]
