How can we bring everything together?

A walk to organise our way forward. 

A circular route from Moreton in the Marsh.
I camped out nearby last night and have walked off my early morning anxieties
I feel a sense of expectation as I start out on a flat and open pathway.

What do we want to achieve?

Clarify

Despite my positive mood there is always some uncertainty at the start of a walk.
Two trees seem to represent the extreme options of what may come to pass.

What is stopping us?

Destination

The natural flow of a walk is my guide
Questions and prompts help me focus
and find meaning in the moments I experience 
I look out for natural prompts like this signposted gate that asks:

Where are we heading?

Prepare

Walking through different fields
Each field a world into itself
A new world to discover.

What helps us on the way?

Activity

I stop under some magnificent oak trees to enjoy the shade,
look back and consider what I have learnt so far

What will get us there? 

Journey

My path turns left, through a medieval field system
whose undulating ridges and furrows have survived the passing centuries.

Do we have time?

Supplies

I reach a long oak avenue and a manicured road that leads me up to an arboretum .

What resources do we need?

Arrive

I took a wrong turn here
before finding
 my way to the village of Bourton on the Hill
and the next phase of my walk. 

What are we drawn towards?

Phase two: What are we looking for?
Suggest

I am well into my walk now and becoming more confident in my practice.
I remind myself that we learn by walking
like the path ahead
the more I walk
the clearer the way will become. 

What can we suggest? 

Profile

I walk along the edge of Sezincote House
built with wealth from the East India Country.
Despite the Buzzards, Red Kites and Ravens
and the beautifully, managed scenery
I feel slightly uneasy  
I’m more at home in the wild,
in development’ 

How do we describe ourselves?

Describe

This serene pond shows the value of careful design and management.
I want my journey to be informed by what works – for me and for those I walk with.

What informs our journey?

Relationships

It’s hot now,
drifting cobwebs and a few brown leaves,
the only signs of Autumn.
I pass a couple eating their lunch in the shade,
we recognise each other as fellow
travellers 

How can we build our relationships?

Associate

Walking out in the open makes me feel open too.
It gives me a sense of perspective,
of significance in my insignificance
I seek only a way to share the benefits of this experience

What have we been blessed with? 

Contact

Alone on the hill
I don’t expect a straight answer to my questions,
yet, when I trust the process,
the way forward often reveals itself

How can we make contact?

Phase three: What can we offer?
Act

The path leads straight across the fields,
back towards my starting point. 

I’m reluctant for this walk to end before I have learnt what it has to tell me
and made sure that I can share the experience
and draw on its memory in times ahead

What are we here for? 

Model

 As Red Kites and Buzzards soar overhead.
I too seek an overview to make sure I’ve covered all the ground I want to before I return.

What is our model?

Strategise

Heading back along the Monarch’s Way
the 625 mile escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 
I’m glad to be taking a shorter and more peaceful path.

Is our path marked out?

Contribute

On this hot October day,
I’m storing up memories and collecting moments
to see me through the winter. 

Where will we find our resources?

Contributions

I’m still looking for a way to share this experience,
to help people see how nature
can help us find our own path

What can we share?

Participate

As the end of the walk approaches
and I prepare myself to return to society
I tell myself that deep down I know
there’s value in all I’ve experienced.

What resources will we make?

Community

A peaceful moment at the end of the walk
Just enjoying the quiet
and listening to the sound of falling acorns

How can we build our community?

sunlight over a single tree and its reflection in water

Start again

We come to connect. To make another start. Every day is a new beginning, it’s own starting point…

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A walk in uncertainty

A walk in development is a walk in uncertainty, a journey into the unknown. Sometimes we’ll walk for hours, on hard and stony paths. Then suddenly there’s a moment, when we see the world as if for the first time and just as its always been. These are the moments we choose to guide us, to keep us on the path of development…

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