Landing within systemic stories

Abstract

This paper shares stories of conversations in my personal and professional lives, the theories which informed the incubation of those conversations, and what developed as a result. The relationships cultivated through those conversations are recorded here in written form, which offers the illusion of stability, suggesting that what I write now will remain true when you read it, but the relationships will continue moving beyond this static written form. For instance, the coaching relationship mentioned in this paper is temporarily on hold, and the peaceful glow, with which the story of my marriage closes, has been ruptured on several occasions since. Understanding that creating space for stories yet to be told allows them to change and transform, has challenged my previous high regard for permanency. The movement of relations now fuels my work and seasons my life. My systemic and new materialist learning, simultaneously at foundation and doctorate levels, enables me to search for that movement in conversations within this writing. I acknowledge the changes that the writing process has created in me. I have begun to question how we reference our learning, who we ascribe our learning to, and how the land on which the learning occurred might be recognised and honoured for its part in the process.