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In a world of systems with implicit inertia to keep us busy, disconnected and going with the unintentional flow, how do we pause, take a step back and work together to create something more radical? More beautiful?
If you were given permission to be truly excellent, how would you show up?
These questions drove my conversation with Shannon Clements Parry, a deeply spiritual guide and sustainability professional based in Los Angeles, CA.
We met on a Google Meet call, with equally bright streams of sunlight coloring both of our faces. Shannon was on our short list of folks we wanted to call into the conversation about excellence in guidecraft at Salt and Clay. Chris described her as someone who is beautifully in sync with the earth and its rhythms, and I can attest that Shannon emanates self-awareness, tranquility and a deep desire to sustain a community for good. Our conversation flowed from how she believes that guides should bring the ecology of a place alive to the importance of inviting participants to go deeper internally, rather than fabricating external challenges.
I shared that Chris feels that Shannon is a quintessential guide and asked her for insights into her best practices. Throughout my various interviews, this question produced remarkable answers, speaking to the power of others to reflect a moment of transcendence back to a person, who may or may not have even been aware of it. Guidework is like that - sometimes the biggest moments for guidees are ones in which guides don’t realize what they said or did. Guidees are our best mirrors.
Shannon humbly accepted this compliment and dove into how guidework has been transformational in her life, allowing her to come home to herself. “Outdoor education was my original foray into [guidework]. It was this incredible counter space to the pace and inputs of modern life. I was able to adopt nature’s pace, which allowed me to hear and see more. That space of social and environmental justice fed my understanding of the systems of oppression that perpetuate our disconnection from each other. The key essence to guidework and healing our world is connection,” Shannon shared, ever so eloquently.
When people connect to themselves, their place and each other, that is how systems level change is created, continued Shannon. She added that a crucial element is the invitation to be excellent, which is a permission that organizations can provide for their guides or guides for their guidees. “The world doesn’t always invite you to be excellent: to ask questions, to connect with others and to act in service of others. When it does, you need to listen. I felt stoked and seen to serve as a guide on outdoor education programs and to be given the permission by organizations running those programs to understand my place in the world and improve it,” stated Shannon.
The invitation to be excellent is an essential element of guidework that organizations, educators and guides themselves can provide. This invitation can take many forms. In what way have you created the permission for folks around you to inspire others?
One example from my life that comes to mind was when I had the incredible opportunity to design a virtual exchange program for 100 high school youth from 23 countries on the topics of climate justice and grassroots movements. I strived to find the balance between creating structure and openness, even in a virtual space where clear instructions are even more important. The program culminated with a capstone project called the Radical Imagination Vision Board, which asked participants to dream up the most beautiful, radical, and climate just world that they could imagine. The project was intended to push participants to think outside of the systems that dictate our world today and envision a bolder, brighter future. There was no set structure to the project, as it was malleable to participant learning styles and promoted creativity. Participants leaned in to varying degrees, creating Padlets, videos, art projects, spoken word pieces and organized community protests. The permission to dream beyond our current way of life inspired greatness in the projects and forever marked me.
How do you pull your head up from the bustle of your daily life and live intentionally? How do you give yourself that permission?
As a guide, how did an organization inspire greatness in you? For guidees, where did a guide create space for you to dream bigger?
Consider this your invitation to be excellent and bring your community along in that quest.
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