1 Year Wander-versary

By Susanne Taylor
12.09.17

dandelion by susanne taylor 2017

Bavarian style by susanne taylor 2017

Standing at the meet up point I had a sudden insight – not only was this event part of a World Wide Wander, a collection of groups exploring streets all over the world, but it was also an anniversary. This event marked the 1 year anniversary of Street Wisdom being held in Munich. I was reminded by the arrival of a familiar face – one of the participants from last year had returned to help me facilitate!

Despite all the registration support, I never know who is going to show up – until we get started. Once again, we had 8 curious and adventurous souls, ready to explore and gain insight (or at least a nice walk). As it’s still Tourist Season in Munich we weren’t the only groups walking this part of town. So stopping to take photos, look more closely, or going slow wasn’t so unusual. Everyone was able to quickly stretch certain perception muscles. I so wished I could have recorded the brilliant things people were saying each time we stopped to exchange.

Then everyone was off – eager to test the new tools and see what the streets had to tell them. Once we met back up and had warm drinks in hand, conversation and sharing flowed. It was a time for many people to actually stop their busy striving and just Be.

“I just sat and watched – I don’t often sit.” Someone shared.

Another said, “There are all these DO NOT signs, but what would be more helpful is if they offered what I could do instead. So instead of “DO NOT ENTER” why not, “ENTRY AROUND THE CORNER.”

We all agreed that there are many things in life (like work and family communication) that could benefit from this approach.

they-see-me-rollin by susanne taylor 2017

Questions were forming a pattern this time around:

  • Where do I want to live in 3 years?
  • Should I stay in Munich or move on?
  • What’s my next best step?

Insight came from all over. Some of the ones I over-heard:

“I don’t have to fight for what I want, but I do need to pursue it, and I need to break some rules.”

“What we just did, it’s a new tool in my tool box.”

“Now I realize that between two options that seem equally good and bad, that actually I can experiment and try bringing positives together that might weaken the disadvantages I have in the other.”

I was buzzing when I left the café, hugging new friends goodbye while they continued sharing resources and encouragement. I also left knowing that there was momentum behind this around the globe – to keep waking up and maybe even breaking some rules.

Susanne Taylor