Mandela – a leader of love

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Photo by Cindy Barnes

Photo by Cindy Barnes

A Leader of Love

Christine Miller

The Mandela we know and love represents freedom, trust, integrity, a new era for South Africa, and inspiration for the rest of the world.

We don’t doubt his struggles and suffering whilst imprisoned for 27 years on Robben Island, and that the tough times he overcame led to a better future for South Africa’s people and rippled out to affect us all. He was a world figure, a leader whose following loved him for his caring, his dedication and persistence, and for his evident love of mankind, of justice, equality and freedom.

He did not shirk difficult decisions, knew when to step back and let others lead, and also knew how to be loving in a strong and courageous way which only increased his ability to influence for good. We saw him as quiet power, a humble source of commitment to change, and a transformational, undeniable force for good.

He was a human being: a human being  who represented Love at Work – and now his memory and the spirit of his actions, words and way of being remain to inspire us to be, ourselves, Leaders of Love.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” —Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

In honour of his life, with joy and anticipation of a legacy fulfilled in his own lifetime.

Below, a short film from 21 Icons of the last photoshoot with Nelson Mandela.

We take an exclusive journey with Adrian Steirn to Nelson Mandela’s home in Qunu, Eastern Cape, and experience the warmth and intimacy that permeated the atmosphere during the portrait shoot. We also hear what others have to say about the greatest icon of them all.

Nelson Mandela Launches The Elders

Nelson Mandela Launches The Elders

The Elders honour the memory of their Founder, Nelson Mandela

“Nelson Mandela stands as an inspiration to us all” –
Kofi Annan

“He was a moral colossus, a global icon of forgiveness and reconciliation” –
Desmond Tutu

Nelson Mandela founded The Elders in Johannesburg on his 89th birthday,
18 July 2007

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Empathy and Compassion in Society Conference

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Christine Miller

Christine Miller

Those of you who know about my long-term research project into Love –  Love in the Boardroom and Love in Organisations via www.Loveworks.co  – will understand exactly why I was attracted to the ‘Empathy and Compassion in Society’ conference which took place in London’s South Bank on October 24th as  the subject matter fits perfectly with many aspects of my work in the field of human potential for ReSource magazine.

This piece is a quick snapshot of the event; every part of the day was valuable, and all will be included in  fuller pieces to follow. There was a stellar line up of 20 speakers including guest of honour, Karen Armstrong (Charter for Compassion), Daniel Goleman (of Emotional Intelligence fame), Adam Grant (leading US business school Wharton’s youngest tenured professor and highest rated teacher) and Jo Berry, Founder of Building Bridges for Peace.

The conference offered a rich and varied feast of ideas and practical suggestions for increasing compassion in society, from schools to workplaces, in healthcare and homes, from the individual to the collective, with great sign posts to research from Stanford’s Emma Seppala and enthusiasm shining throughout.

The day began with a message, courtesy of David Rand, Executive Director of The Tenzin Gyatso Institute, from HH the Dalai Lama, who said there should be many more conferences dedicated to compassion, as loving kindness is such an important quality and way of being. This was  followed by a moving talk from Karen Armstrong about the great need for compassion in our world. Karen is currently working with TED on a major international project to propagate the Charter for Compassion, which was crafted by leading thinkers in six of the world’s religions.

Engagingly com-passionate Associate Professor of the University of Texas, Kristin Neff treated us to a range of techniques for being compassionate to ourselves as well as to others, so that we gave ourselves permission for self-compassion, Kristin’s area of interest and outstanding expertise.  Kristin is author of the internationally acclaimed book Self-Compassion (2011) and is also featured in the bestselling book and award-winning documentary The Horse Boy, which chronicles her family’s journey to Mongolia where they trekked on horseback to find healing for her autistic son.

A round table discussion gave us great insights from some active advocates and practitioners of compassion including Richard Barrett, an author, speaker and social commentator on the evolution of human values in business and society. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Barrett Values Centre, a values-based leadership programme used in 60 countries to support more than 4,000 organisations. His recent publications include The Values-Driven Organisation: Unleashing Human Potential for Performance and Profit(2013) and Love, Fear and the Destiny of Nations (2011).

Another panelist was Maureen Cooper,  the author of ‘The Compassionate Mind Approach to Reducing Stress’, which is due to be published in the UK in September 2013.

Maureen is also founder of Awareness in Action, a consultancy dedicated to the secular application of mindfulness, meditation and compassion in the workplace.

 

Also on the panel was inspirational and entertaining Kevin Jones, headmaster of St John’s College School in Cambridge, who was awarded the 2013 Tatler Prize for Best Headmaster. One of the school’s many strengths is its mindfulness programme, part of the school’s emotions for learning project designed to strengthen children’s emotional resilience.

Paul Ekman, who is a leading clinical psychologist and pioneer in the study of emotions, came to us by video message and discussed whether compassion is an emotion and whether it can be cultivated. His 1970s research shows that emotions are universal and the facial expressions associated with some emotions are common to all humans.

The afternoon brought us a selection of valuable workshops, followed by examples of ways in which compassion is being encouraged in a number of organisations from Tesco, through The Reader Organisation and Jane Davis MBE  to hospitals in Australia, via Liz Lobb and Alexandra Yuille,  insight into the concept of  ‘Give and Take’ from Adam Grant, and Daniel Goleman’s wonderful speech about leadership and compassion, about which more to follow.

 

This conference offered such a packed and powerful schedule, it will take me a while to process the individual elements and report further, but in the meantime if you have some time this weekend, do register and go along to the workshops, you will be doing a great kindness to yourself by learning more. Do visit the link below and find out more. 

Empathy and Compassion in Society

 

Thanks to Sophie & Olivia at TPR-Media for your cooperation – much appreciated.

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Celebrating Poetry – And she brought me Snowdrops…

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And she brought me snowdrops...

 

And she brought me Snowdrops…

Sharp strands slicing,
Stinging swallows:
Tiny throat cut,
No mercy.

Crisp cold whiteness
Thin flat sheets
Hard steel
Metal, framed.

Voice silenced;
No sound emits.
No signal –
No response.

The vast space
Echoes briskly
Attendants bustle
No relief.

Trickle of tears,
Lonely tracks
Tracing patterns,
Still, alone.

Plucked from home,
Separated,
Before three springs,
Untimely rift.

Sudden sense,
Familiar tone,
Eternal smile,
Soft arms enfold.

And She, salvation,
Maternal, golden,
Of radiant warmth,
Brought me snowdrops.

© Christine Miller

 

This poem arose from seeing a film on the BBC’s ‘The Great British Year’ of a February woodland garden in Gloucestershire, filled with snowdrops in bloom, their delicacy and beauty carpeting the ground with that fabulous first sign of winter’s end approaching.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I recalled with great clarity the time when I was about two and a half years old when I had my tonsils out. I still have strong memories of this. I can see clearly the area pre-theatre where gas cylinders and bottles of blood were stored, I feel the cold crisp linen of the hospital bed and the hard metal bars that kept me imprisoned there. I recall not being able to call out to the nurses for help. I remember the pain of my raw throat, and, acutely, the loneliness.

My beautiful Mother, Jane

My beautiful Mother, Jane

In those distant days when I was little, parents weren’t allowed into hospital with their children, and visiting hours were very strictly enforced. I was desolate, in pain,  and afraid, and when my mother did arrive with a beautiful bunch of snowdrops, and a pretty little silver hair slide, which I treasured for years, I was filled with joy and relief.

The image of those snowdrops is still fresh in my mind, all these years later, and as I watched the scene in the film, these words, ‘And she brought me snowdrops’, erupted superbly into my consciousness and demanded to be expanded, expressed and offered as a token of gratitude and Love to my dearly departed mother, whose healing, radiant presence is still with me every day.

And it also just happens to be National Poets Day today, so I dedicate this to all poets, everyone, everywhere, may your creativity flow with abundance.

Christine – for National Poet’s Day 2013

Find more of Christine’s poetry here: Soul Poet

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For the Love of Art

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Strarta: London’s Newest Art Fair

Marilène Oliver, Dreamcatcher, laser-cut acrylic fishing wire and ostrich feathers Beaux Arts

Marilène Oliver, Dreamcatcher, laser-cut acrylic fishing wire and ostrich feathers Beaux Arts

It’s a real honour to be speaking at the inaugural Strarta Art Fair in the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London’s Kings Road next week, and the topic of The Love of Art is, of course, particularly relevant and resonant with my research and writing for the Love at Work and Love in the Boardroom projects which currently fill my life and engage my attention.

Developing material for this talk is a rather delicious experience, combining some of my favourite interests and passions, and sending me on colourful, poetic and richly rewarding journeys into imagination, creativity, connection, inspiration – and Love.

Yes, Love, of course. Love as energy, Love as inspiration, Love as – well, a fount of great excitement and impulses to create.

I was asked to write a few paragraphs for publicity about what I’ll be talking about on October 11th, and when my words were greeted by the team with great enthusiasm, the suggestion was to share with my readers here.

For those of you who are coming along, here is a foretaste, for those who aren’t, here’s a little snippet of what I’m sure will be developing as a theme over the next few months.

Enjoy!

The Love of Art

Christine Miller asks: What do we talk about, when we talk about Love?

Some think of Love as a fluffy, soft thing, based on romance, muddied by weakness and scandal, dismissed as an irrelevance, and relegated solely to close relationships and family. Love can be taboo, and not for discussion at our work, in business, or in places where serious decisions are made.  But the kind of love of which Christine Miller speaks, which she has researched for three years, and observed as present throughout organisations and activities across the globe, evident in courageous, creative individuals, is not a weak and feeble thing. It is a strong, powerful, demanding love, inspiring, creative – a love that insists on courage, on dedication, on honesty, trust and openness. This is a tough, even fierce, kind of love, which needs much more determination, awareness and thought than the options of fear, indifference and apathy; and being truly loving is much more challenging than being closed, cold and remote.

So what do we really mean by Love?
And more particularly, what do we mean by ‘The Love of Art’?
Who are the people who have a Love of Art?
For ‘Art Lover’ is a common term used to describe a wide range of people from the dilettante to the committed expert.

When we consider the ‘Love of Art’, we can speak of those who love art and express their love by dealing in, buying, displaying and collecting art, who demonstrate their Love by supporting both artists and art. These are people whose Love expresses itself for the finished piece, and its value, in service to the creation of the finished work of art.

We can speak of the artist, the initiator and ‘imagineer’, and their consuming Love of Art. These are the essential creators, demonstrating their Love and passion for their own artistic expressions, the power of imagination, their skills, struggles, determination, their dedication, vocation and valuable gifts.

We can also speak of the critic, whose love of art drives them to seek perfection and provoke improvement. We can ask – is a critic who tears apart an artist’s work still expressing their Love of Art? This is the ‘Tough Love’ of Art, also requiring strength and courage to express.

The Love that Christine Miller will speak of at Strarta encompasses all these aspects, and propels us even further to explore the power and fuel that is Love.

For we are talking here of an energy and connection which pervades the entire universe, and is one of the strongest forces available to us, which whilst it is often carelessly, casually mentioned, is little understood and definitely under employed.

Come and explore the Love of Art expressed in the powerful relationships between the artist, their work and the many stakeholders in their artistic expression.

Christine Miller October 2013 

___________________________________________________________________________________

Strarta Art Fair

Christine Miller MA FRSA will speak about ‘The Love of Art’ at the Strarta Art Fair at the Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, Kings Road, London SW3 on Friday October 11th 2013 at 15.00

Christine is available for interview – please contact Tina Fotherby  tinafotherby@famouspublicity.com

To find out more about the venue, tickets for the exhibition and events please visit www.strarta.com

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Love Is – More than rosy moments

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heartstone Christine MillerLove Is

I was reflecting this morning that this is the first Valentine’s Day for three years that I haven’t been involved in some kind of poetry competition or promotion – 2010 and 2011, I was working with Hallmark Cards as a judge on a ‘Twittermantic’ project offering a prize for the best short romantic verse, with the winning words being turned into a card. Great fun and we attracted lots of entries both times.

Last year, I was working with QVC, the shopping channel, as resident poet on a Love Letters campaign to help the British public write messages of love to their loved ones – I turned out hundreds of poems in two days, and it was great fun. Each entrant received a beautiful, specially designed card with a personalised verse inside, and the requests came from sons and daughters, parents and friends as well as romantic interests, the long-married and newly established and those hopeful for relationships to develop. There were some deeply moving stories of loss, illness, misfortune – through which Love had triumphed and endured, and it was such a delightfully endearing project.

Although not publicly involved this year, I am,  as well as writing a book about Love in Organisations, deeply engaged in the process of bringing together a new volume of poems called ‘Courage to Love’, and this seems like the ideal time to give you a sneak preview.

This one is called ‘Come to Love’ and seems quite fitting for Valentine’s Day, even if it’s a little alternative. It’s really a statement that hearts and flowers and romance are not the essence of lasting love. We need more of the kind of love that endures and grows, standing up to all kinds of challenges and upsets, just like every aspect of human life. A Love that is present not only between couples and in families, but throughout our lives, including our work, our politics, and the way we engage with nature and the environment – in fact, throughout the planet, even the cosmos.

I like to think of us rising and standing in love, strong and courageous and loyal, collectively, rather than falling in love and being infatuated, on a hormonal high which inevitably recedes and leaves us wondering what we saw in that person in the first place. A Love that simply Is…not always easy, but one we know will endure the ups, downs and broadsides of human life.

I dedicate this poem to Love  – as a way of being and becoming; inclusive, extensive and pervasive, bringing the joy and spirit of human flourishing to us all.

Christine Miller

Happy Valentine’s Day – Loving Every Day, Every Loving Day 

Come To Love Christine Miller

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