Refresh with Goodness
Connect with creativity!

The learning objective of Connect with Goodness is To enhance the value of goodness is to learn to use it, by connecting with it, as a source of wisdom and strength. As leaders, connecting with goodness can take many forms – from being open to suggestions and ideas to keeping balance and centeredness in relationships.

Reminding ourselves to connect with goodness each day can be a gift that we give ourselves, a point of strength in growing the quietude that each of us needs to keep grounded in our personal and professional roles, to act in gesture and speech from a place of kindness, and to find that place of reflection that allows one to set aside the difficulties of the day and enter into peace – even for a short time.

“Connecting with goodness for me is a daily practice,” says Kate Cheney Chappell, artist, co-founder of Tom’s of Maine, and a member of The Saltwater Board of Directors. “What works for me is having various ways in my life that connect me with God or my creative force. It really doesn’t matter what you call it as long as it takes you outside yourself, away from your concerns about the world, to connect to a greater power than the self.”

To connect with goodness in your own way, consider these ideas from Kate, try them out, and adapt them to your liking. Experiment:

Do “Morning Pages”. Kate recommends a daily practice she adopted from Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, which is sitting down with your journal after waking and write continuously for 20 minutes, never taking your pen from the page – as if the words were streaming from your mind, though your heart, to your hand onto the page. This stream of consciousness journaling helps to clear the mind of clutter – the constant chattering of worries, concerns, anxiety – so that you can settle into a calmer state to meditate, breathe, or your morning routine.

Read and reflect on a poem or sacred text. Kate uses poetry as a medium to connect with goodness. Compilations such as The Enlightened Heart by Stephen Mitchell; The Soul is Here for Its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures, by Robert Bly (ed.); or Cries of the Spirit by Marilyn Sewell (ed.) an anthology of women’s poetry organized by topic, are wonderful treasures of sacred texts that contain wisdom and access to goodness.

Write or draw in your journal. Journaling is a large part of the reflection process in The Seven Intentions program. While it might take some reminding to get that journal out and write in it, this is a great opportunity to start at it again. Kate reminds us to be good to ourselves, and take up the journaling as if we had just put it down a moment or two before. And it’s not just writing that a journal is for: “Sometimes I copy a favorite poem out with my left hand. This helps me slow down and use the right side of my brain. I sketch, draw, or paint directly into my journal or I paste in pictures or images that inspire me,” Kate says. “I use the journals to record my creative play, which is why I developed this approach for Intention 5, Venturing Out, in The Seven Intentions.” Kate recommends the book, No More Secondhand Art: Awakening the Artist Within by Peter London.

Meditate. “Meditation, which includes breath work and movement of yoga, are part of my daily practice of connecting with goodness,” Kate explains. “I want to be able to connect with goodness in a bodily way, whether it be stretching or walking. I feel so much better when I do these things, and I can see and feel the difference when I do not meditate or move.” She recommends organic prayer (integrating movement with prayer) or opting for a walking mediation. “I integrate movement with prayer by raising my arms over my head in a modified tree pose, opening both arms wide in a circle that ends with palms together over my heart chakra,” Kate offers. “This is a quick way to bring me to integration.”
Take a look at the book, Organic Prayer: Cultivating Your Relationship with God by Nancy L. Roth.

Slow down and breathe. Kate reminds us that a large part of connecting with goodness is slowing down – your body and your mind – which allows you to find humility. With so many things in the business world that can distract us, like all the electronics we use daily, it is important to take the time to feed the spirit through slow observation of nature. It is forcing to ourselves work with our hands, hearts, and heads in ways that stretches our connections, drawing ourselves closer to the meaningful interactions with goodness we have everyday. “Anytime my day is going too fast, my mind races, and my body needs a break, I bring myself back to my breath. I take three deep belly breaths, bringing all my attention to that act. It is very calming and renewing,” she says.

Be creative, make art. Drawing and painting, working in three dimensions, all feed the creative spirit, and connect you with goodness. You might want to look at Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.

Leaders in their professional roles often are challenged to find the time to reflect during the day. Kate provides these accessible ideas to add to your work routine:
Seek out moments alone in a busy day. “I take a few minutes before an important meeting to connect through breath or a mantra (like “All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”from Praying with Julian of Norwich by Gloria Durka),” Kate says. It is about taking the time to remember to center yourself and relax.

Dialogue with a friend. Be confident and ask for help by contacting a trusted friend or wise person before and after a difficult task.

Build up your toolkit. Memorize favorite quotes, lines of poetry, or sacred text and recite your favorites in times of stress.

Imagine a wise face in front of you. Making a visual connection with an individual who you love and admire or with a place that conjures up serenity or peacefulness is yet another method of implementing a daily practice. Remember the hero and heroines that you identified in your Seven Intentions work and call upon them in the spirit of connecting with goodness. Bring them with you in your day.

Start each meeting with a Connect Exercise. See the accompanying story.

As graduates of The Seven Intentions, one of the values we take away is confidence. It is confidence that encourages us to step out further on the line, to stretch ourselves a bit more than we may have done in the past, and to challenge the ways in which we work to align with our values.

Beginning a daily practice takes effort and commitment, and often we may be at a place in our lives that seems like adding one more thing is too much. However, it may be that adding an exercise in goodness will make the entire day brighter, more energetic, and more productive. When we start the day from a place of serenity – whether it is from meditation, reading, exercise, journaling, or quiet reflection – we provide ourselves with a peaceful start that reverberates through the day and influences our actions, speech, and tasks.

“I notice how well my day goes when I connect with goodness. The best place is to start with what you feel most comfortable with and then notice how it makes you feel, how you move through the day differently,” Kate says.

Reading List
Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
Stephen Mitchell (ed.), The Enlightened Heart by
Robert Bly (ed), The Soul is Here for Its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures
Marilyn Sewell (ed.), Cries of the Spirit
Wendell Berry, The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry (Counterpoint Press 1999)
Peter London, No More Secondhand Art: Awakening the Artist Within
Nancy L. Roth, Organic Prayer: Cultivating Your Relationship with God
Betty Edwards, Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain
Gloria Durka, Praying with Julian of Norwich