Collaborations…..I’ve been thinking about collaborations ever since I met with Conflict Resolution experts Michelle Phaneuf and Marjorie Munroe of Workplace Fairness West and we began exploring ideas for a  display, for Conflict Resolution Day, October 19 of this year.

It’s been three weeks now since we offered it over a lunch hour to the community in downtown Calgary, and the discoveries about collaboration, conflict and imagination are still staying strong with me.
I’ve been thinking, collaborations are a bit like science labs. Products come together and something  innovative emerges. Additionally, however what emerged with this collaborative project was surprising for me. I guess I thought we would be building something through pooling  differences, the three of us, and instead what emerged was our common ground. I discovered we are each rooted in creativity, resource based learning, flexibility and commitment! What a great discovery. Is it in experiments and collaborations  that we find our tribe, the people we wish to work with, and  the magic of creation!

We created that day, and implemented a few weeks later, three “stations” for exploring how to shift our perspectives about relationship challenges. They were interactive, and so meaningful that they are worth sharing. At the first interactive station “ImageIN your Conflict” participants were invited to select from a group of circular images, an image that somehow represented a relational challenge. What followed was describing   what they saw in the image, literally and maybe writing what strengths or qualities have emerged in themselves to manage the challenge. We felt this represented a way of connecting to what we FEEL, a focus on HEART, compassionate listening to the self. One woman got tremendous insight into her frustration with her husband and their evening meals by identifying what her strengths are and what she could do to create a solution.

The next station “Play up your Conflict” offered a chance to DO something, to stay in the BODY while talking about  a challenge. We tried this out by offering participants something to manipulate, i.e. magnetic desk toys and paper clips. And then, moments later, invited participants to describe the process (of their playing with the objects). This offered some insight into their current challenge and  maybe new self-understanding. This is a method of moving away  or “de-centering” from the problems, to  to make room for new ideas and imagination.

The last station “the Treble with Conflict” offered a chance to express a conflict through musical expression. I loved what emerged for one man and thought it would be worth offering here. He explored his conflict by blowing into an instrument (the spring drum) that is usually played with the hands and noted it was extremely satisfying. Then, when he was invited to try this again, and add even more expression, he experimented with a range of ways of expressing himself with this drum. He wrote out and shared about his learning in this way “Conflict pain can be internally managed when it is expressed and let out in the form of steam and energy”. He walked away lighter and with insight.

Although conflict resolution day is now in the past, I hold in a new way, the rich opportunity available to us if we collaborate both with each other and with the arts, especially during the times when we feel stuck in our relationships. What if, embedded in our relationship challenges is something we need to discover about our resources and our strength. What if, selecting an image, playing with a “toy” or expressing ourselves with music could unlock  potential and shift  perspective.

Try out one of the exercises we tried at our “stations”. The arts are amazing companions. Drop us a line about what you discovered. Contact me, let’s collaborate and create something new together.
For further information about Karen Daniels, her upcoming workshops and her experience please contact: http://www.windsongexpressivearts.com/