As I look at more years in the rearview mirror than ahead, I ponder how I ended up here. So many ideas of what I was supposed to do and where I thought I was going. I’m happier with myself and by myself, but it was not always this way…
I had such a blissful young life, oblivious to so much. The “golden child” doted on by everyone in my wake. Life was handed to me in scrumptious bits and the gift of adoration, plentiful and constant. Moving into adolescence in a world not my own, the realization that I…
Life is truly what happens when you’re busy making plans
Sometimes they go accordingly
Timing precise and in tune
Then there’s a glitch, a hiccup, a pause
At times it’s incidental, others monumental
Just because these happen
Does not mean we are flawed
Not broken, not failed
No blame, no shame
It is not simple or easy or insignificant
It will take time, and effort and grace
To unravel and unwind and find a new pace
Balance patience, self care and settle into the space
Be mindful not to squander precious time nevertheless
Bid some adieu and wish them well
…
In the solitude of an empty house, my mind wanders to comfortable places far away
I open my Pandora’s Box of stolen moments
Each precious gem held up and examined
Viewing each facet with new admiration
Searching deep for the glimmer that reminds me of bliss
Sometimes my retrospection floods into my conscious mind
Like a river unleashed amidst a rainstorm
Other times like the morning dew accumulating imperceptivity
Emanating into a drop barely detected had it not been anticipated
I let my mind wander at times to the precarious place of imagination
In a world constructed without encumbrance
As…
It’s been a helluva a year, which is a major understatement. There are a lot of things about 2020 that the world wishes did not happen, global pandemic, racial unrest, murder hornets and natural, as well as man-made disasters…
But there’s more.
A personal journey into an emerging field.
In 2017, I was invited to a conference in Kansas City by a foundation I only had a passing acquaintance with, I was told I had been nominated to attend.
We need you and people like you to empower the makers, the doers, the dreamers of our society. We believe that everyone has the fundamental human right to turn their idea into an entrepreneurial reality, regardless of who they are or where they’re from, with zero barriers in the way.
The ESHIP Summit is the Kauffman Foundation’s inaugural gathering of ecosystem builders and…
We are a few days away from the Presidential Election in the United States. There is so much at stake and stress levels are volatilely high. Racial tensions, global pandemic and natural disasters are adding to the burden of our daily lives and existing pressures. It is no wonder we want to shut off the world of voices that conflict with our ideals and values.
The heightened problem with shutting off is that we have also fallen into a pattern of self justification and righteousness. We are not challenging our own assumptions, learning and saddest of all we are cutting…
(inspired by Be Still Media to create art that is about hope, good and beauty, I share these thoughts in response to Saul Bellow’s quote: “Unexpected intrusions of beauty. This is what life is.”)
In this time…
When it is precarious to be around others
Where sharing space
A touch
A kiss
Could be lethal
I want to love with reckless abandon
I long to step into the fog
Not looking down at where I am going
Barefoot
To leap across the chasm
Without a running start
Unable to see the other side
No net
Arms spread ready to take…
Forming Future Agro Challenge USA in the midst of crisis.
As the world continues to be enveloped in the COVID-19 crisis we are experiencing the non-medical effects of the virus. Along with the economic downturn as businesses, small and large feel the strain not only of the pandemic, but of the measures set in motion to slow the spread.The food supply chain has been crippled and this issue will likely get worse before it gets better. …
Thinking about “the day after” COVID-19~Forget reset, it wasn’t meant to be anyway.
As the blanket of COVID-19 covers more of the world and the number of people infected increases, the degrees of separation with the virus is decreasing. These days are filled with a colossal amount of information and noise, and it’s a lot to process…A LOT. Several weeks spent trying to understand, navigate and make sense of it all has been overwhelming.
Many of us are undergoing levels of grief and mourning. Our internal grief shows up in stages we’ve may be familiar with, but haven’t connected it…
(Aka Rules of Engagement, Norms or How to play nicely in the sandbox)
In facilitating a convening of people, it’s good practice to create some “norms”. These are guidelines created by the group to insure the interactions are equitable and proceed in a manner conducive to engagement. The term “Rules of Engagement” has its roots in the military and were passed down to the ranks. In entrepreneurial ecosystem building, like workshops, they are usually compiled by the people present. It becomes a covenant by which individuals pledge to be in community. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 had rules too, including…
Cecilia Wessinger
Community & Ecosystem Builder, Collaborator, Catalyst, Speaker/ Facilitator. Lover of words, ideas and people.
