Reflections from the ongoing work of practice, leadership, and attention.

These essays reflect an ongoing practice of attention—exploring grief, leadership, belonging, and what it means to live into a new story, personally and collectively.

Reflections Adam Olen Reflections Adam Olen

Something Rather Than Nothing

Every so often, my son and I fall into long conversations that stretch across everything—physics, philosophy, God, and what it means to live a good life. In one of those conversations, he asked a simple question: what does it mean to follow God? I didn’t have a definitive answer, but I found myself returning to something more basic—the fact that there is something rather than nothing, and what that might ask of us.

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Reflections Adam Olen Reflections Adam Olen

My Heart Doesn’t Fit in a Box

There is a growing amount of attention, energy, and legislation directed at a very small group of people. This piece steps back to ask why, and to explore the human, biological, and societal complexity we often ignore. A reflection on gender, grief, and the consequences of mistaking our categories for reality.

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Reports on Practice, Reflections Adam Olen Reports on Practice, Reflections Adam Olen

Learning to Live in Liminal Space

This synthesis reflects on the first five sessions of the New Story Stewards program, exploring how we learn to live in liminal space — the threshold between the Old Story that is unraveling and the New Story still emerging. Facing the reality of the polycrisis, it considers the practices of witnessing, grieving, prayer, and action as ways of grounding ourselves in humility, presence, and love while helping steward what comes next.

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Reflections Adam Olen Reflections Adam Olen

A Veil to Protect Community

Not every act of transparency strengthens trust. At a recent council meeting, I found myself wrestling with whether a small, intentional veil—keeping outcomes public while resisting personalization—might actually help preserve community connection in a time when division comes easily.

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Reports on Practice Adam Olen Reports on Practice Adam Olen

Reports on Practice: An Introduction

I came to this work for reasons that have been building for years. My life exists at several intersections: public service and inner work, organizational consulting and spiritual practice, the demands of showing up for my community and the quiet necessary to stay grounded in myself. For a long time, I've been looking for a structure that could help me integrate these dimensions rather than toggle between them.

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