There is almost nothing like the gift of a good book shared with a friend, client, or co-worker. A gem you cherish and then reveal to others with almost no expectation. Only the chance that they too will gain insight the way you did, and then turn, walk out onto the path and spread the good work into a bright sunny day. Carry it with them onto their walking path and hope that someone asks them what’s inside.

Today, I was on the receiving end of such a gem and after reading only a couple of the poems inside, I can’t wait to put my feet up later with a cup of tea and polish my intellect with the insight. The name of the book is, “A Leader’s Guide to Reflective Practice.” by Judy Brown

The theme of the book is in encouraging us to take the reflective time we need to do the work at hand. We cannot always be moving at full steam. We will run out of coal, and blow a piston, and in the mean time, it becomes very difficult to see through all the smoke. The countryside starts whizzing by so fast that all becomes a blur, and suddenly, we have forgotten to scan the horizon.

I will write more on the subject. You can be sure of that. Right now I have a client waiting for me in the studio. And though I am thoroughly enjoying some reflective time in the sound proofed conference room next door, there is work to be done. Time to throw another log on the fire. So in the mean time, I’ll leave you with a poem (one of many) from the book…

Fire

What makes a fire burn
is space between the logs,
A breathing space.
Too much of a good thing,
Too many logs
Packed in too tight
Can douse the flames
Almost as surely
As a pail of water can.

So building fires
Requires attention
To the space in between,
As much as to the wood.

When we are able to build
Open spaces
In the same way
We have learned
To pile on the logs.
Then we can come to see how
It is the fuel, and the absence of the fuel
Together, that make fire possible.

We only need to lay a log
Lightly from time to time.
A fire
Grows
Simply because the space is there
With openings
In which the flame
That knows just how it want to burn
can find its way