Author: RiverAdmin
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Sound Familiar?
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation Tell me if this sounds familiar. People are talking. It’s going well. The conversation is thoughtful; folks are asking good questions, considering different angles, making sure they understand the full picture. And then it…just sort of…keeps going. One more perspective. One more possibility. One more thing to take into account Read more
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Says Who??
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation Each week, when I sit down to figure out what I’m going to write about, I usually go back and read the last column or two and see where my thoughts want to go next. I got to the last sentence of last week’s article, though, and stopped. “Where a Read more
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A Little Adjustment
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation A couple weeks ago now, we recorded our first podcast episode, which went…surprisingly smoothly. In hindsight, that probably should have made us suspicious. Everything worked. The conversation flowed. The sound was clean. We wrapped it up, looked at each other, and thought, “Well…that wasn’t so bad!” And then, about a Read more
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Connection Across Differences: Part 4
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation The question we left off with last week was “How do we create communities where differences don’t immediately divide, and where connection is intentional, not accidental?” I ask myself this question so often. Especially after watching the news, which, frankly, I avoid. I prefer to read my news rather than Read more
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Connection Across Differences: Part 3
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation Our snippet of conversation last week left off with a thought about processing difficult feelings, like anger, and staying grounded as a way of staying connected through differences. Disagreeing and staying connected. Oof. That has, historically, been really hard for me. Once upon a time I would just…avoid any and Read more
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Connection Across Differences: Part 2
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation Last week, we ended with an open question: “Maybe the question isn’t how we resolve every difference, but how we decide which conversations are worth staying in.” That’s an incredibly powerful point. I think a lot about the energy we give to things, to people. The older I get, the Read more
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When Conversation Connects
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation So…what does connection actually look like? Let’s say that we have decided to intentionally nurture connection. Great. Step one complete. Then, we allow ourselves to notice the opportunities where connection can exist alongside our ‘normal’ life. Fabulous. Step two complete. Then…what? What does it actually look like when two or Read more
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Connected Along the Way
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation Last week, I wrote about connection. About choosing it deliberately, especially when the world feels loud and fractured. Which is all well and good in theory. In practice, though, I’m not going to pretend it’s easy to actually DO the things we say matter to us, whether that’s being more Read more
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Resolution-Adjacent
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation Well, here we are – a whole week into a whole new year. This time of year always comes with a strange kind of energy, doesn’t it? A mix of gratitude, fatigue, cautious optimism, and pressure. Because as soon as we re-emerge into the post-holiday world, we’re expected to have Read more
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Truth, Turkey, and Grandma’s Knitting
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation I have a question for you. How do we tell people the things they might not want to hear, but kind of need to hear. And even more importantly, how do we learn to graciously accept that kind of feedback ourselves? It’s been on my mind lately, probably from watching Read more