so i haven’t really shared any photos of amsterdam. and since, right now, words are not cooperating with me, i thought i’d toss up a few. just to let you know i’m here. i’ve gone places. and i’ll be back soon.

always after a potent experience of travel and connection there is a sense that all will be lost if i don’t hurry to get it downloaded. the images, the voices, the new contacts and friendships. it is as if it all will never have happened if i don’t print, post, email, or tweet about it. this time, rather than hurrying to seal things, ride the momentum, and push through, i am called to sit in the clearing. to give some space to what has really happened this past week.

i knew that the european summit would be dynamic and engaging. i knew that i would be surrounded by interesting people doing interesting things. what i didn’t know was that i would be so at home in their company. i sat at tables with individuals that engaged parts of me that had been sleeping, and others that mirrored back the exact values and creative direction i am moving toward. i deeply believe that over the course of our lives, we unconsciously lay tracks that eventually line up to take us to where we need to be; though i also believe that we don’t always mine the clarity to see it. full circles, foundations, bridges, and, yes, doorways, can and do show up–but they are easy to miss. the summit was a place where i was able to realize, with better clarity, how this is happening for me. how the things i have studied, the work i have done, the skill sets i’ve honed, and the personal growth and passion that has awakened within me, are all being activated into the opportunities of this moment.

so as i work to suspend the motivation to rush into the download and pump out the networking, i’m putting my attention on breathing. on integrating. and on getting to the center of what it is i am ready to take on. i’m choosing to walk today, rather than phone my friends, re-design my website, and send out twenty queries for new project ideas. it is all coming. the tracks have been laid. i know who i am. i have a glimpse of what i am capable of and what i have to offer. now is the time to let the reality and depth of these new connections take form offline, to let the ideas assimilate inside, and to trust in the bigness, the potential to make change, in all of it.

more on the summit, and on the extraordinary people in attendance, next week. for now, let this image of marcella, summit volunteer, and mama lucy lend your imagination to the level of depth and exchange i was honored to witness there.

i have arrived in amsterdam for the european summit. already, a pre-event dinner with a lively group of change makers promises an eventful weekend. this morning i am thinking about children–my own, several time zones away sleeping soundly in their beds, and the nearly 400 who attend the school that mama lucy built in tanzania, in the space her chicken coop once stood.

there is so much work to do in the world. but what i realized, again, in the company of such dynamic and passionate people last night, is that there are great things happening and dedicated real people doing them. i am honored to be here and can’t wait to capture it all.

i am reminded that showing up is the first, and perhaps most important, part. in a new setting, and in the company of the admired, i  admittedly fret over what my my byline is, over how to best express what i have to offer, over whether i am tongue-tied and making a good first impression. and then i remember why i am here: to be present, to listen, to offer, and to collaborate. this event is about passion and doing the work that feeds the soul. that i know. and that i am showing up for.

photo: mother and daughter. omel. gulu, uganda. april 2010. cafwa.