[Oe List ...] Passing of Winkie Chesley

Thu Sep 5 19:21:47 PDT 2024

Thanks to all for these awakening words. Paul, yours was a true, authentic
witness that spoke powerfully to me and my own experience.

May we all awaken, overflow, and see and interact with the mystery, depth,
and greatness all around us.
With much love (and rather more "woke" - in a new context of the word),
Sunny

*Sunny Walker *
*She/her/hers*
*On **Arapaho, Cheyenne, Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux)
tribal land*

Certified Facilitator (Also Certified ToP Facilitator)
ToP Methods Mentor Trainer - Upcoming Courses
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sunny.sunwalker at gmail.com
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For diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging inquiries:
sunny at diversityinnovators.com
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For virtual facilitation inquiries:
sunny at virtualfacilitationcollaborative.com
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On Thu, Sep 5, 2024 at 1:51 PM PAUL SCHRIJNEN via OE <
oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

> A few weeks ago, Christine and I drove from London to France for a holiday
> with our kids and grandkids. On the way the two of us stopped in Chartres
> for a night – a place to rest and to see the cathedral, as we have done
> before.
>
>
>
> It was a long drive with lots of traffic, and I was tired when we got
> there. We unpacked our things and late in the afternoon walked to the
> Cathedral. We found that we were among many visitors in this ancient place.
> We walked around, sat for a while to look at and listen to a small group
> doing a wedding rehearsal. It was a fine, ordinary visit. But my tiredness
> seemed bigger than the building around me. We left the cathedral and found
> a place to eat.
>
>
>
> The next morning, we got up early and went again to the cathedral. This
> time we went in just when the doors were unlocked. We were, in essence, on
> our own in the cathedral.
>
>
>
> I walked into that large, empty nave, entering a great, inviting silence,
> encountering an overwhelming light, a beauty of colour, a luminous space.
> My heart opened and flowed over, my breathing changed, my shoulders
> relaxed, my pace slowed. I walked around, almost in a daze.
>
>
>
> Later I pondered, was this the same place I saw the day before when I
> wasn’t moved at all?
>
>
>
> It seems like that more often than I wish. I walk around most of the time
> with a sequestered heart, pre-occupied, stuck in my own agenda, or weaving
> my way around the agendas of so many others, guarded, trying to impress
> another, or maybe just tired of one thing or another, certainly locked in
> myself - in Isabel Bishops’ words, invisible to the extraordinary,
> amazingness of others. The mystery, depth and greatness in people around me
> out of sight.
>
>
>
> It can be like that, also at work, or when visiting a friend, or when
> observing the endeavour of a colleague. My sequestered heart, insensitive,
> biased, blind, filled with judgment of one kind or another. My brain not
> really listening, but producing words, I instantly regret the sound of. It
> seems that this judging of others is accompanied by a judging of self and
> circumstance in a vicious cycle.
>
>
>
> I have noticed that too when I read my emails or look at messages on this
> list serve. Often, I read and delete. Rinse. Repeat.
>
>
>
> Oh, how fragile my disposition. How I live most the time disconnected from
> self and others. Charles Hahn sang: How firm is my foundation. Mine seems
> too often out of reach.
>
>
>
> Then, this morning, suddenly the graciousness and love of Isobel’s words
> wake me up, the curiosity of Jim’s questions, the intellectual congruence
> and wisdom of Marilyn and JWM, and then I see words of gratitude in yet
> another message by Judi about Winkie, and on and on and on. The heart
> opens, overflows, and mystery, depth and greatness of humans seem all
> around.
>
>
>
> I do leadership workshops and coach people. How do I enter the space of
> those conversations with an open heart, sensitive to the unique reality in
> front of me? Or when a family member, neighbour or friend shows up? How do
> I rest well enough, breath slowly enough, am aware enough of the miracle of
> the life in front of me? How do I enter those moments like I enter an
> empty, life giving space of Chartres  Cathedral?
>
>
> How do I wake up, time and time again?
>
>
> Paul
>
>
>
> On 5 Sep 2024, at 04:01, Isobel and Jim via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
> wrote:
>
> Yes indeed,Jim- a tribute to Winkie Chelsey-
>   our lives were touched so many times by unexpected gifts in
> extraordinary human beings - they may have appeared ‘ordinary’ and yet to
> us , they were amazing and extraordinary.
> What rich, grounded and awe filled lives we have been given !
> Salutations from the South land.
> Grace and peace and with love,
> Isobel
>
> Isobel Bishop
> Mob.  0412 129 425
>
> On 5 Sep 2024, at 2:08 AM, James Wiegel via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
> wrote:
>
> I did not know this person, Judi.  My what a broad array of fine human
> beings we have had the honor to connect with.
> Jim Wiegel
>
> “We are all time travelers journeying into the future. But let us make
> that future a place we want to visit. “       Stephen Hawking
>
> On Sep 4, 2024, at 6:36 AM, Judi White via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
> wrote:
>
> 
> Ijust yesterday, I became aware of the passing of Winkie Chesley, Guardian
> of the ICA from Area New York, from Wilton  CT. She passed on February 28th
> in her assisted living home in Fairfield, CT.  Her son, Bill, said this was
> unexpected. The last time we talked, around Valentine's Day, she said all
> she wanted to do was sleep. Each time I called after that, the phone rang
> with no answer. Winkie was host to many colleagues on their fundraising and
> event recruiting treks. She supported the New York House with her  breath
> of fresh air presence bringing her famous seven bean soup, or suits for
> permeators, or  pitching in on set up and serving, and so much more. She
> holds a seat of honor on my meditative  council as guide tgrough a dark
> night into the light of self-confidence to begin a new path. She introduced
> me to the labyrinth as a sacred ritual, and as an essential element in
> church and community  renewal. Gee, she loved us all so much, i am sure her
> compassion  lives on in the hearts of those who continue on this unshakable
> journey.   Grieve Peacefully, Judi
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