Over the course of my working life, I’ve designed, facilitated and hosted countless gatherings, parties, meetings, workshops, team building sessions, rites of passage, learning journeys, women’s circles and celebrations. Some of this has been done outside of my more traditional (and somewhat winding!) career path of teacher, business leader, management consultant and family enterprise advisor. Some has been done within these roles.

Along the way, and through many other life adventures and learnings, I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of what a “good gathering” is and can be.

At its best, I believe a good gathering is an experience that helps us – individually and collectively – weave together the stories of our life. It marks a point in time. It helps us make meaning of where we’ve been, so we can better understand where we’re going. It helps us to become more present to the moment we’re moving through. Crafted well, a good gathering helps us feel stronger, more confident, more connected and… more like ourselves.

As the world around us continues to shift and crack and change in profound ways, the experience of a “good gathering” becomes a steadying force, one that uplifts us and invites in a renewed sense of continuity and possibility.

This is my hope: that each good gathering, each experience we call forth, brings more meaning. More balance. More belonging. More laughter! More connection to the things that matter, as we continue on our path of evolving and becoming, together.

May it be so.