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I was given a beautiful card today & if you tear it up & cover it in soil, wildflowers grow from it. I LOVE this. And it feels an important image for this day. We should sprinkle wildflower seeds everywhere. Every patch of ground- spread wildflowers, spread joy & natural beauty.

Making the effort to connect up a person's care across services is not just about the mechanics of communicating information. It's also about offering a sense of emotional containment, so a person knows their care is coherent & they feel held within a network of people who care.

With the enormity of everything going on in the world it can feel like our own tiny lives are so insignificant. But it's important we don't lose touch with our own sense of agency- to have the courage to be our selves, to love & care, to let our lives speak.

When there's too much focus on change, I think we tend to operate on a more superficial level with simplistic techniques & goals. In contrast- being alongside, seeking to understand, tending to our relationships is better. It's more of a slow growth, rather than a clever change.

I had coaching that I thought was going to be all about work. But it became about how I am in relationships & what I need in order to be me. Maybe this is obvious (it wasnt to me!). I realised I was seeking out situations/people that make me perform as a narrow version of myself.

We get asked to 'train' hospital colleagues in how to support people in distress. As if we could deliver a couple of slides & then that'd be sorted. Reality is- colleagues are already highly skilled & caring. What's needed is regular time & space to reflect & feel supported.

You cant always show up as the best version of yourself, on form, with good humour. It's just not realistic. It's a relief & freeing to find a person or team where you can be your real self- where you can not be on form, where you can bring your rough edges & still be accepted.

I've had couple of DMs in the last few days from people here who I see as wise souls, people I respect a lot. People messaging me to say they're leaving Twitter. Sad isn't it. There are all kinds of reasons to be here, but number one is the people- people you share thoughts with.

Giving & receiving feedback, when it's meaningful, & done with honesty & compassion, can be a big opportunity. I think 'feedback' has been taken over by formalised processes- another tick box, & the power of it has been eroded. Done well, & personally, it's such a powerful thing.

We all know that feeling of being in a meeting & there's a veneer of politeness & being professional, but actually there's an underlying fear of really saying what's on our minds. It's so widespread & such a poor use of our time & energy. Why do we put up with this utter charade?

In big NHS organisations it's obvsly impossible for senior leaders to get around having meaningful conversations with every single colleague. But it does seem possible to give off a sense of being a genuinely decent person who cares. And I think this really matters a lot.

We take for granted & neglect the simple things, & come up with ever more complicated solutions that actually just create more noise. If only we actually attended to the simple things that matter- caring for each other & the environment, taking the time to listen & be thoughtful.

There's a quality of listening that enables a person to relax, to think more clearly, & to find out what it is they're trying to say. This is a skill & an art. And when you experience it, it feels really good. Hah imagine if there was more of this around...

How is it that within an org we can try to communicate progressive msgs about relationships, cultures of care & support etc, & it feels like pushing water up a hill. But when external consultants say essentially the same thing, they are received with open arms? What's this about?

We all know about putting on our own oxygen masks first, & we can't pour from an empty cup etc. But in practice? It's unrealistic that individual people will reliably do this. I think it needs a relational/team/service approach where we encourage each other to care for ourselves.

What a beautiful thing today to see my son totally in the moment gazing up into the trees & trying to catch leaves as they blew down. His joy & the triumph of catching one! (And he got five, good lad)

Pope Francis: "I continue to receive very serious and painful news from Gaza. Unarmed civilians are subjected to bombings and shootings. A mother and her daughter were killed by Israeli snipers while going to the restroom. It is terrorism."

#SpacesForListening > resurgence.org/magazine/artic… Brigid Russell and Charlie Jones introduce Listening Spaces, the online initiative they set up jointly in lockdown (May 2020) to give people somewhere to both listen and be heard. Sessions are held twice a week, one during the

Twitter friends👋 This is a heartfelt thanks for 5 years of wonderful conversations, connections & people that have changed my life. It's been company, support, learning, challenge. It's led to 'in person' meet ups & special relationships. Thank you & peaceful wishes to you all x

It's been tough at times in the past 5 years. Through it all, I'm so grateful for the constant of a community who listens & cares. To those in May 2020 who joined us in the 1st #SpacesForListening, & all the hundreds of brilliant people since. Thank you ❤️ brigidrussell43.medium.com/spaces-for-lis…