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

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

Imagining and Welcoming a New Story

In this session, I found myself reflecting on how deeply misaligned our ways of organizing life have become—from the values we elevate, to the hierarchies we accept, to the pace at which we expect life to unfold. This synthesis statement and report on practice explore where my own assumptions were challenged, where resistance surfaced, and where I began to glimpse a different way of seeing and living into a New Story.

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