Life is asking extraordinary things of us right now.

We’re being tested and challenged in ways like we perhaps have never been before.

This is being called a test for our humanity, a time of agonising choices, our evolutionary moment, to draw on just a few of the many commentators seeking to make sense of and define this time.

There is so much shifting – in our social, political, cultural, ecological and economic systems, and more deeply in our values, identities, relationships, and how we make meaning and purpose in our lives.

How do we really make sense of and comprehend the enormity of this? How do we be with, and hold, the depth of emotions, and the shifting identities and losses we experience around us and perhaps within us?

Discover five essential elements of a deeply human journey to lead with more presence, connection and wholeness in these complex and uncertain times.

In the heat of a crisis, this question - What is needed here? - is a simple and powerful tool to guide our leadership. 

Greg Mullins, former NSW Fire Commissioner, reflected over the weekend on the leadership he had seen in working with multiple Prime Ministers (Howard, Abbott, Rudd, Gillard), across many disasters (NZ earthquake, Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Indian Ocean tsunami, Lindt Café Siege).

“I watched Prime Ministers step up into leadership roles and they were asking constantly: What’s needed? … there was no political partisanship… I’m not seeing (this from Prime Minister Scott Morrison). And I don’t understand it.”

Asking “What is needed here?” is a powerful leadership tool for three reasons:

I know many of us are feeling deeply the devastation of the fires - the heartbreaking loss of lives, 500 million animals and threats to biodiversity, loss of homes and livelihoods just to begin.

The future feels uncertain, complex and at times incredibly challenging.

In context of all the challenges we are facing, I wanted to share some reflection questions, inspired by Joanna Macy and positive deep adaptation, one of the many sources of inspiration I've been spending time with. I hope they might bring you fresh energy and active hope.

What exactly is a ‘proper context and perspective’?

Working with complex issues like climate change, we know that there are many perspectives and ways of seeing the issue, across multiple contexts.