I encountered David Whyte’s poetry somewhere at the end of 2017. His take on mindful leadership got slapped in my face by a dear friend, Amy Thompson, with one of his most stunning poems: “Start Close In” (see below). It is so powerful.
Ever since then I keep discovering more and more of his work. For all the poets I have read, DW feels like the one that managed to sing to my heart, balancing insight, depth, raw emotion and compassion.
This specific book is a collection of his finest poems over the last decades. I think I read them all in the mean time, and I still keep it close to me to pick one out every now and then to contemplate and journal about.
Most Memorable Quote
There are too many. The quote that would express my epiphany with DW’s poetry would be:
Revelation must be
Terrible with no time left
To say goodbye.
Revelation just smacks you in the face. 
😵
🤭
What has this to do with leadership?
Poets and Leaders share the same approach to the world. We both tap in the energetic field / space / universe / whatever-you-call-it to feel into what is happening among people and by extension our planet. We both give voice to what we sense is of service to our world. Poets verse what they know, feel and sense and give it to paper, Leaders take charge and materialise what is bound to happen.
Mindful Leadership
Reading poetry informs us, leaders, to reflect on our world, discover new colours and directions and work from there. The practice of reflecting from different perspectives makes us more mindful of the world we are creating. Somehow it alters the cells in our bodies. Our world becomes so much more precious.
“Start Close In”
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=030YqrN4SFc[/embedyt]
Get your own copy of this amazing book:
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