Monthly Libation: April 2025

Spring has definitely sprung at Colemon & Associates (C&A)! We hope that you can make and take some time to savor the blessings and messages of spring; in nature, in your relationships, and in your purpose. As a reminder, our intention for this newsletter is to offer reflections, inspiration, and resources to feed and nourish our work and practices from three primary perspectives:

1.     What We Are Feeling (Heart)

2.     What We Are Thinking (Head)

3.     What We Are Practicing (Loving and Intentional Action)

What We Are Feeling (Heart)

We continue to feel the paradox of our times, and this definitely is at the center of our work with leaders and organizations. There is loss, polarization, fear, and so much uncertainty around our communities and our worlds. Our newsfeeds are flooded with devastating headlines and updates, and many of us are impacted by mental and physical health challenges, and the fluctuation of finances. It is heavy and scary. And we refuse to pretend it is not happening. Naming what is hard, particularly in the presence of our loved ones or work teams can invite a braver space to be authentic about what is going on for us. Not with the pressure to solve or even care take, but to establish and maintain an environment where we can be present and in solidarity with each other. Even for the introverts, connection can mean the difference between isolation and engagement.

One powerful coaching tool, known as embracing new perspectives, can be a powerful way to re-frame our relationship to change (or any other challenging concept or element in our lives. Many of us have experience change and/or uncertainty as a negative for very real reasons: lack of information, fragile or dwindling resources, shaky relationships, lack of trust in self or our teams, the list goes on and on. This can cause or keep the mind monsters going. The spiraling can paralyze us but more importantly it keeps us from taking any action. And so we get stuck in worry and perseveration. And as humans we exchange energy whether we know it or not. And that anxious energy spreads and can even swell within our teams and partnerships. Embracing a new perspective invites us to explore: what would be a radically different relationship or perspective I could have with this issue. For example:

“Change is a gift I can’t wait to embrace.”

“Change is a gateway to new and exciting opportunities.”

“Change is a unique opportunity for our team to grow and build trust with each other.”

After selecting a new perspective to try on, we can place this new lens to see a challenge differently. Even if it provides just a minor shift, it can give our nervous systems the pause it needs to be in a place of response rather than reactivity.

How are you holding paradox and change right now? What is your organization’s relationship to change? What new perspective can you try on to support yourself or your team in navigating uncertainty?

What We Are Thinking/Reading (Head)

To resource ourselves, and to support our coaching and consulting services, we are actively reading and exploring resources about navigating change and uncertainty. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to look at the innovative and important offerings of Leadership Learning Community. They have a wonderful newsletter, and we were so inspired by this recent article sharing what jellyfish can teach us about engaging with change. So cool!

Kellie recently revisited bell hooks critical book, All About Love: New Visions, to remember this extraordinary ancestor’s take on how we have been conditioned to think about love in our lives. More specifically, what are the things we can continue to unlearn, reimagine, or restore in centering a love ethic in our relationships and organizational change work? We would argue that hooks was ahead of her time in her vision for the way love can liberate us all if only we had the courage to center it. She doesn’t shy away from the complexities that trauma, race, and gender bring to this process, but she challenges us to do it anyhow in service to a better and healed world.

Just one of many wonderful quotes in the book:

“Contrary to what we may have been taught to think, unnecessary and unchosen suffering wounds us but need not scar us for life. It does mark us. What we allow the mark of our suffering to become is in our own hands.”

― bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions

What is love calling you to do (or not do), start, stop, or continue? What are appropriate but compassionate ways to incorporate love into your leadership and organizational culture? Who was a loving leader or force in your life you can call on in hard times?

What We Are Practicing (Loving and Intentional Action)

We are practicing unapologetic self-love. It may feel woo woo to some, and just downright awkward to others, but as a team, we are committing to a daily self-love practice. The proud moments, the shadow sides, the triumphs and devastating failures…we are loving ALL of them. As a team of Black women, this is a way to disrupt and heal generation trauma as well as defy negative messages of who we are and what we deserve. But it is also more than that, particularly when it comes to how we want to lead and engage with the world. We are challenging ourselves and our client partners to remember and practice centering the timeless quote from Hermes Trismegistus:

“As within, so without.”

The full quote is said to be “As within, so without, as above, so below, as the universe, so the soul.” It is arguing that our inner world drives and mirrors our external world. And if that is the case, it is worth doing the work to make that interior world a loving and beautiful landscape. It is a call to consistently devote time and space to our self-awareness, and a better understanding of our internal operating system. Put another way, how can I best own my impact and be responsible for the energy I bring into any given setting?

We are finding that self-love can look like opting out, like choosing a slower pace, letting folks know you need more time on a task/project, or simply postponing discussions, meetings, or projects that aren’t pressing. It’s not about spa days or retreats – those are great, but they are often few and far between and quite expensive – rather, it is daily choices that bring you closer to what feels true and right in our bodies. We invite you to find inspiration for self-love in these striking and beautiful images by artist Derrick Adams.

What do you love about yourself, either as a human or a leader? What would a self-love practice look like for you, and how might it benefit your leadership and well-being? How might you invite others loving community?

We hope you enjoyed this month’s offering. Please share with those in your network who might enjoy it. Please follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn to stay informed of our upcoming work and/or events, and to keep receiving the Monthly Libation. If you are looking for organizational development consultation, support, or coaching, you can find out more about our work on our website or email us at info@colemonassociates.org.

Stay safe. Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other.

C&A Team