From Concept to Cover: Navigating the Design Journey of Books

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This mini-series about books started off with the history of the library, then went to books at war, and now comes down to the book itself – or rather, how important the design of a book is to the reader.

Design is central to the appeal, messaging, and usefulness of books, but to most readers, it’s mysterious or even invisible. Through interiors as well as covers, designers provide structure and information that shape the meaning and experience of books. In The Design of Books, Debbie Berne shines a light on the conventions and processes of her profession, revealing both the aesthetic and market-driven decisions designers consider to make books readable and beautiful. In clear, unstuffy language, Berne reveals how books are put together, with discussions of production considerations, typography and fonts, page layouts, use of images and color, special issues for ebooks, and the very face of each book: the cover.  

The Design of Books speaks to readers and directly to books’ creators—authors, editors, and other publishing professionals—helping them to become more informed partners in the design of their projects. Berne lays out the practical steps at each stage of the design process, providing insight into who does what when and offering advice for authors on how to be effective advocates for their ideas while also letting go and trusting their manuscripts with teams of professionals. She includes guidance as well for self-publishing authors, including where to find a designer, what to expect from that relationship, and how to art direct your own book.

Throughout, Berne teaches how understanding the whats, hows, and whys of book design heightens our appreciation of these cherished objects and helps everyone involved in the process to create more functional, desirable, and wonderful books.

Berne embarked on the journey of writing this book because she sensed a gap in understanding among the authors and editors she collaborated with regarding book design. It seemed there was a lack of accessible resources for them to grasp the intricacies of design. Traditional books on design target designers themselves, while online explanations often offer fragmented and bewildering information, focusing on the “what” rather than the “why.” Berne’s aim was to equip those on the editorial side with not only the vocabulary and techniques of design but also the underlying rationale behind design decisions. This endeavor wasn’t solely for enjoyment, although design can indeed be enjoyable, but rather to facilitate more meaningful discussions, enriched experiences, and ultimately, better books.

The Design of Books provides the reader with insights into the mechanics of typography and the significance of factors like line length. It will heighten your awareness of the nuances of headings and how the choice of words influences cover design. Above all, it will enhance your perception of design and its contributions.

As a book designer turned author, Berne advocates for the importance of design in publishing and emphasizes the significance of incorporating the voice and ideas of the designer early in the process. Often, design is an afterthought, introduced late in the game, leading to a discord between the materials provided and the expectations for their presentation. Authors should consider how the design will complement the content from the outset, including collaboration with designers during the developmental stages. Effective design should intertwine seamlessly with the content; attempting to apply it as an afterthought overlooks its essence.

Design inside a book creates order and bestows authority. Reading a badly designed book is like driving over a crumbling road, potholes everywhere.

Debbie Berne

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

Palaces for the People

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How Social Infrastructure Can Help People Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life

The social and physical environment shapes our behavior in ways we’ve failed to recognize; it helps make us who we are and determines how we live.

Eric Klinenberg

We are living in a time of deep divisions. Americans are sorting themselves along racial, religious, and cultural lines, leading to a level of polarization that the country hasn’t seen since the Civil War. Pundits and politicians are calling for us to come together and find common purpose. But how, exactly, can this be done?

In Palaces for the People, Eric Klinenberg suggests a way forward. He believes that the future of democratic societies rests not simply on shared values but on shared spaces: the libraries, childcare centers, churches, and parks where crucial connections are formed. Interweaving his own research with examples from around the globe, Klinenberg shows how “social infrastructure” is helping to solve some of our most pressing societal challenges. Richly reported and ultimately uplifting, Palaces for the People offers a blueprint for bridging our seemingly unbridgeable divides.

According to author Eric Klinenberg, social infrastructure is not “social capital” – a concept commonly used to measure people’s relationships and interpersonal networks – but the physical conditions that determine whether social capital develops.

When social infrastructure is robust, it fosters contact, mutual support, and collaboration among friends and neighbors; when degraded, it inhibits social activity, leaving families and individuals to fend for themselves.

Social infrastructure is crucially important, because local, face-to-face interactions – at the school, the playground, and the corner diner – are the building blocks of all public life.

People forge bonds in places that have healthy social infrastructures – not because they set out to build community, but because when people engage in sustained, recurrent interaction, particularly while doing things they enjoy, relationships inevitably grow.

inspired by Palaces for the People, by Eric Klinenberg

From Aging to Sage-ing: Navigating the Journey of Becoming a Modern Elder

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Many of us feel like we’re growing whole rather than growing old. What if there was a new, modern archetype of elderhood, one that was worn as a badge of honor, not cloaked in shame?

Chip Conley

On the occasion of my 65th birthday in 2023, I made public a project I had been working for some time, and one that I plan to continue the rest of my life:

Becoming a Modern Elder.

Here was my resolve: As much as it is in my health, resources, and capacity, I resolve to:

My journey to becoming a Modern Elder is all about reciprocity. 

Giving and receiving. Teaching and learning. Speaking and listening. 

Everyone gets older, but not everyone gets elder.

The first just happens (if you’re lucky and healthy). The other you have to earn.

Along this journey, I’ve been researching the topic of elderhood, and I wanted to share an important contribution to that research from Terry Jones in his book, The Elder Within:

One writer approached the idea of what he calls “elderhood” as a “state of consciousness that arises in the context of physiological aging… [where] the psyche issues a call for us to engage in life completion, a process that involves specific tasks, such as coming to terms with our mortality, healing our relationships, enjoying our achievements and leaving a legacy for the future.”

The archetypal elder has been the same force in most cultures over most all of time. An archetype is an ancient model for a role that has survived time. Some writers refer to the archetypal “elder within” when discussing the energy from the psyche that energizes those who express eldership. “Within each person awaits the figure of the elder – a promise and a challenge.” Just as the instincts seem to account for recurrent behavior patterns in man, so the archetypes seem to account for recurrent psychic patterns. 

Psychic patterns are expressions of your psyche. The psyche is all of the human being, which is not physical. The psyche includes the conscious and unconscious elements of the human personality.

When a man taps the energy of the “elder within,” the following are available to him:

  • Balance in our expression of strength, celebration, intellect, and feeling
  • Knowledge of our faults, our shadow
  • An expression of self principally from our center, our soul
  • Patience and a desire to be available to others
  • An awareness of our personal strength
  • A sage-like love for consensus and community
  • A expression of wisdom that leads to being shown extraordinary
  • Deference by the community
  • A hunger to share the world with women and children: the opposite of patriarchy
  • A drive for conservation and a passion for the Earth and its survival
  • Assertive energy that invigorates and energizes but is not dangerous to others
  • A need to nurture and guide younger people and contribute to the next generation
  • Husbandman energy: driven by a passion for the best possible life for men and the beauty of the Earth
  • Stewardship energy of the Earth, of people
  • A desire to take care of ourselves and take pride in our good health
  • Knowledge that we are caretakers whose vitality depends on a personal shift from self to community
  • A personal force that empowers others when they are in your presence
  • A hunger to introduce the meaning of life to the young

Eldership is wisdom in an active state.

Wisdom is enlightenment, insight, and a high degree of learning. The elder is aware of the need to pass on one’s knowledge and to pass on the responsibility of stewardship of man and the Earth to the young.

I would love to hear your comments:

  • What’s your reaction to the list above?
  • What would you change?
  • What would you add?
  • What would you remove?

Thanks for contributing to my ongoing research and discussion of the Modern Elder!

Turning the Pages of War and Peace

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In a follow-up to last week’s look at the history of the library, a companion post: the role of books in both shaping conflict and being shaped by conflict (the very appropriate subtitle of the book).

Print, in all its rich variety, will continue to play a part in human interactions through the globe, in war as in peacetime… When books go to war, others stay behind, a reminder of the better times when conflict can be banished to the edge of our consciousness, if never wholly eradicated.

Andrew Pettegree

We tend not to talk about books and war in the same breath – one ranks among humanity’s greatest inventions, the other among its most terrible. But as esteemed literary historian Andrew Pettegree demonstrates, the two are deeply intertwined. 

The Book at War explores the various roles that books have played in conflicts throughout the globe. Winston Churchill used a travel guide to plan the invasion of Norway, lonely families turned to libraries while their loved ones were fighting in the trenches, and during the Cold War both sides used books to spread their visions of how the world should be run. As solace or instruction manual, as critique or propaganda, books have shaped modern military history – for both good and ill. 

With precise historical analysis and sparkling prose, The Book at War accounts for the power – and the ambivalence – of words at war.

In May 1933, news of widespread book burnings orchestrated by the Nazis in Germany triggered a swift and impassioned response in the United States. Almost 200,000 people took to the streets in cities across the country to protest this censorship. Authors, some of whose works had been burned, strongly condemned the actions. President Franklin D. Roosevelt incorporated the imagery of the smoldering pyres into his speeches, emphasizing the importance of preserving freedom and civil liberties.

Nearly a century later, book burnings during the Nazi era remain a powerful symbol, partly due to their impact at the time. Many Americans saw them as emblematic of the German regime, serving as a forewarning of future atrocities. However, Andrew Pettegree’s extensive cultural history, The Book at War: How Reading Shaped Conflict and Conflict Shaped Reading, reveals a surprising twist. Less than two decades before the Nazi book burnings, during periods of wartime chauvinism, Americans themselves fervently burned German books, with librarians leading the way.

Pettegree, a professor of modern history at Scotland’s University of St Andrews, delves into the intricate relationship between printed media, books, and war. He argues that books have played a crucial role in conditioning readers to expect and support conflicts, serving as carriers of ideology and spoils for victors. Yet, they have also provided solace and solidarity during times of combat, offering comfort to civilians in hiding and soldiers on the front lines.

While Pettegree’s depth of knowledge and skillful storytelling are evident throughout, he reaches a high-water mark when detailing the literary toll of war, providing acute actuarial insights into the destruction of books during World War II. The loss of over 500 million books in Europe, including the ransacking of Jewish libraries and the devastation in Poland, underscores the profound impact on cultural heritage.

A fascinating thread weaves through what Pettegree calls “warrior authors” – the great leaders of the world powers who found themselves in opposition not only on the battlefield, but also on the written page. Here are a few examples:

  • Winston Churchill – Writing was in his blood; his first autobiography “My Early Life” was from his adventures in India and Africa during Britain’s various wars in the region. Prior to his ascendancy to become Prime Minister, writing and journalism kept him ahead of his mounting debts. After WWII, he would win the Nobel Prize for Literature, for his oratory and historical writing.
  • Adolf Hitler – The most notorious text of the twentieth century, “Mein Kampf” laid out in remarkable detail his program for Germany and the fate that awaited its enemies. He was also a discerning reader and collector, particularly of architectural and history books, appropriated by American soldiers in 1945 and now in the Library of Congress.
  • Joseph Stalin – Belying his reputation as crude and uneducated, he was a deeply literate and thoughtful reader and lover of books. His carefully curated library of over 15,000 volumes carried over into his involvement with some of the major writing projects of the Soviet state, influencing a war of ideas in Communist countries around the world.
  • Charles de Gaulle – A lonely symbol of French defiance during most of WWII, he first came to prominence as an author of aa widely admired text on armored warfare that crossed international boundaries and was quickly translated into both German and Russian.

The Book at War not only examines the destructive power of war on literature but also highlights how books have provided comfort to individuals enduring conflict. The accounts of Allied soldiers receiving cartons of paperbacks after storming Normandy’s beaches and Anne Frank finding solace in books while hiding from the Germans in Amsterdam are particularly poignant. These stories prompt reflection on how books continue to influence those facing conflict today.

On a personal note, my father was a WWII veteran who loved to read. Much later in life – his early 80s – he shared with me both stories and a few books that he had saved from his time in service. In addition, he had a highly curated selection of books by and about some of the great leaders of that generation, particularly Dwight Eisenhower. Upon is passing, I was fortunate to bring several of those into my personal library.

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

How to Help You Live SENT in the Place You Call Home

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Not so long ago, neighbors generally kept their doors open to one another. Smaller houses seemed less confining, because the more porous divisions between homes – separated not by doors of wood or steel but by “screen doors” – encouraged socializing with neighbors.
An essential ingredient in community formation is dying out: the strong relational ties that are built when we let our guard down with each other, when we claim common space as an appropriate forum for conversation, play, and eating.
I used to think hospitality was a lost art. Now I’m convinced it is a lost heart.

Len Sweet, From Tablet to Table

Here are some more helps in learning to build bridges with hospitality – from your home to your neighbors.

These bridges are the next step in the ongoing shift in thought from a facility-focused ministry (church as a place) to one based in people’s homes (church as the body of Christ BEING the church).

Think of it as shifting:

  • From a buildings to your block
  • From a campus to your cul-de-sac
  • From in-person to in-the-neighborhood

Why not BE the church in your neighborhood TODAY, instead of BRINGING your neighbors to church?

Here is a link to the webinar recording I did entitled How to Help You Live SENT in the Place You Call Home. 

You will learn about the spaces, places, and graces that will help you become bridge builders to your neighbors. I unpacked those three words with ideas, examples, and tools to help you BE the church where you live.

Even though recorded at the height of the pandemic in the summer of 2020, the webinar concepts are valid and needed just as much today.

Here are some next steps from the content covered in the webinar:

> Download a blank Spaces/Places/Graces Listening Guide PDF

> Download a brief synopsis of the key slides used

> Recommended Books Referenced:

   Primary

   Other Good Resources

As discussed on the webinar, the ideas and resources we talked about are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Building Bridges to Your Neighbors. You can find many more by searching on this site using the key words “First Place Hospitality.”

For an essential First Place Hospitality library, check out this page.

The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Seen

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When I was young, I wanted to be knowledgeable, but as I got older, I wanted to be wise. Wise people don’t just possess information; they possess a compassionate understanding of other people. They know about life.

David Brooks

Along the journey of becoming a Modern Elder, I want to become more present with people, have bigger conversations, and find deep pleasure in human connection.

As a textbook introvert, I struggle with the previous sentence, but there’s always hope…

…especially when I read How to Know a Person by David Brooks.

David Brooks observes, “There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen – to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood.”

And yet we humans don’t do this well. All around us are people who feel invisible, unseen, misunderstood. In How to Know a Person, Brooks sets out to help us do better, posing questions that are essential for all of us: If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them? What kind of conversations should you have? What parts of a person’s story should you pay attention to?

Driven by his trademark sense of curiosity and his determination to grow as a person, Brooks draws from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history, and education to present a welcoming, hopeful, integrated approach to human connection. How to Know a Person helps readers become more understanding and considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen. Along the way it offers a possible remedy for a society that is riven by fragmentation, hostility, and misperception.

The act of seeing another person, Brooks argues, is profoundly creative: How can we look somebody in the eye and see something large in them, and in turn, see something larger in ourselves? How to Know a Person is for anyone searching for connection, and yearning to be understood.

Building meaningful relationships and fostering a sense of community boils down to mastering a series of small, tangible social skills. It’s about navigating disagreements without damaging connections, gradually unveiling vulnerability, being an attentive listener, gracefully concluding conversations, seeking forgiveness when needed, gently turning down others without causing heartbreak, comforting those in distress, and hosting gatherings where everyone feels embraced. It’s also about the ability to empathize and see things from another’s perspective.

Within any group, there are two types of individuals: Diminishers and illuminators. Diminishers focus on themselves, making others feel insignificant through stereotypes and assumptions. On the flip side, illuminators exhibit a persistent curiosity about others, asking the right questions to understand different viewpoints. They shine a light on people, making them feel respected and valued.

Despite being crucial life skills, these aren’t typically taught in schools, leaving a gap in practical knowledge about offering the rich attention we all crave. At the core of a healthy person, family, school, organization, or society lies a fundamental skill: the ability to deeply see and make others feel seen, to understand and value them.

This goes beyond mastering a set of techniques; it’s a way of life. To truly know someone, you need to grasp how they perceive the world, experiencing it through their eyes. Building relationships is an ongoing effort to understand others on a profound level and let them feel heard, valued, and comprehended. It’s about knowing how they know you.

Some people are much better at seeing people than others are. In any collection of humans, there are diminishers and there are illuminators. Diminishers are so into themselves, they make others feel insignificant. They stereotype and label. If they learn one thing about you, they proceed to make a series of assumptions about who you must be.
Illuminators, on the other hand, have a persistent curiosity about other people. They have been trained or have trained themselves in the craft of understanding others. They know how to ask the right questions at the right times — so that they can see things, at least a bit, from another’s point of view. They shine the brightness of their care on people and make them feel bigger, respected, lit up.

David Brooks

Take a look at some of the following characteristics of Diminishers and Illuminators as developed by Brooks. Do you recognize yourself in any of them?

Diminisher Tactics

  • First Impressions: It’s that quick sizing-up moment when you meet someone, where you open your eyes, direct your gaze, and take them in.
  • Egotism: Some folks struggle to step outside their own viewpoints. They just aren’t curious about others.
  • Anxiety: Ever met someone drowning in the noise of their thoughts? It’s like they’ve got a whole party in their head, and they can’t quite tune into what’s happening in yours.
  • Naïve Realism: Ever thought your perspective was the one true reality, assuming everyone sees the world just as you do? That’s naive realism in action.
  • The Lesser-Minds Problem: While we’re privy to our thoughts, we only catch a snippet of what’s happening in other minds. This leads to the perception that our inner world is far more intricate than theirs.
  • Objectivism: Picture someone adopting a detached, dispassionate stance to understand entire populations but missing the individual stories.
  • Essentialism: Ever grouped people together, thinking they’re more similar than they really are? Or believed others from different groups are fundamentally different from “us”? That’s essentialism.
  • The Static Mindset: Imagine forming fixed perceptions of people, maybe based on past encounters, and not bothering to update them to reflect who they are now. That’s the static mindset in action.

The Illuminator’s Look

  • Gentleness: It’s about having a genuine emotional concern for others, recognizing the ties that bind us and the commonalities we share.
  • Openness: Pushing aside insecurities and self-absorption to fully engage in the experience of someone else.
  • Curiosity in Action: Cultivating the spirit of an explorer and honing the skill of imagining to truly see others.
  • Warmth: While some treat understanding as an intellectual exercise, for many, it’s a whole-body experience filled with emotion and affection.
  • Kindness: A generous spirit that looks for the best in people.
  • A Complete View: It’s easy to misjudge when you only see a fragment of someone rather than their whole being.

Striving to cast an illuminating gaze that is tender, generous, and open, we set ourselves on the right path. This approach helps us move beyond the clichéd character types we often lazily assign to people, ultimately enhancing how we present ourselves to the world.

The real process of, say, building a friendship or creating a community involves performing a series of small, concrete actions well: being curious about other people; disagreeing without poisoning relationships; revealing vulnerability at an appropriate pace; being a good listener; knowing how to ask for and offer forgiveness; knowing how to host a gathering where everyone feels embraced; knowing how to see things from another’s point of view.

David Brooks

Between the Covers: A Journey Through the Pages of Library History

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Tuesday is my “Lunch and Learn” day, typically involving a trip to my local library to drop off books I’ve completed and pick up new ones that are available on my hold list. As a long-time user of library facilities, it’s not a surprise that I would read a book about libraries!

Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with bean bags and children’s drawings – the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident.

 In The Library; A Fragile History, historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world’s great collections, trace the rise and fall of literary tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare manuscripts. In doing so, they reveal that while collections themselves are fragile, often falling into ruin within a few decades, the idea of the library has been remarkably resilient as each generation makes- and remakes -the institution anew. 

Beautifully written and deeply researched, The Library is essential reading for book lovers, collectors, and anyone who has ever gotten blissfully lost in the stacks.

The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree delves into the rich and complex evolution of libraries throughout history. Pettegree skillfully navigates the cultural, social, and technological shifts that have shaped these institutions. The book explores the profound impact of libraries on societies, emphasizing their role as repositories of knowledge and catalysts for intellectual progress.

Pettegree traces the origins of libraries from ancient civilizations to the present day, highlighting key moments of transformation and adaptation. The narrative captures the challenges libraries faced, such as political upheavals, wars, and technological advancements, and how they managed to survive and thrive amidst these changes.

One notable aspect of the book is its attention to the people behind the libraries, from dedicated librarians to visionary leaders who shaped the destiny of these institutions. Pettegree effectively weaves together historical anecdotes, providing a comprehensive and engaging account of the library’s journey.

As a voracious reader with a keen interest in history, I really appreciated the detailed exploration of the evolution of libraries and their pivotal role in preserving and disseminating knowledge. Pettegree’s thorough research and insightful analysis provided detailed explanations and appreciation for good arguments.

Overall, The Library: A Fragile History offers a compelling narrative that aligns with my interests in history and books. It serves as a valuable addition to my reading list, providing a nuanced perspective on the enduring significance of libraries across different eras.

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

Good Works

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Hospitality and Faithful Discipleship

The essence of our vision is quite simple: that we may receive the love of Jesus so deeply into our lives that it propels us to love God and our neighbors with all of ourselves, thus sharing the good news of Jesus with each person who is among us.

Keith Wasserman

According to the authors, our acts of love and generosity help us become more like the one who has welcomed us, and they are powerful expressions of our faith, humanity, and identity.

Ephesians 2:8-10 says that we are “created for good works.” That helps us understand why we often feel good when we do good things. It is because we are most complete, most fulfilled, when we are being who we were meant to be.

For over forty years, the community of Good Works, Inc., has shared life with its neighbors in rural southeastern Ohio, a region with high poverty rates and remarkably resilient people. Offering friendship to those without a support network and shelter, care, and community to people without homes, those involved with Good Works have made it their mission to embody the gospel in innovative ways. What insights can be gleaned from Good Works, and how might these lessons be applied to our own communities and churches? 

Keith Wasserman, the founder and executive director of Good Works, and Christine Pohl, a scholar of hospitality who has written extensively on church and mission, explore challenging insights from the story of Good Works and how it has grown over the years into a unique expression of discipleship in the body of Christ. At the heart of this community’s story are connection and mutuality. Good Works functions not as a charity or social service agency but as a place where everyone has the opportunity to both serve and be served. And although worship is a central paradigm for life at Good Works, Keith and the leaders of the community regularly partner with non-Christians from all walks of life who desire to help. 

Christians who hunger for life-giving involvement in their local communities – wherever they might be, and in whichever circumstances – will find inspiration and guidance in this quiet but powerful Appalachian ministry. Short prayers and questions for reflection at the end of each chapter make Good Works a book to be studied and shared among those who know that love of God and neighbor is the starting point, but who aren’t sure where to go from there.

The authors have documented the following five themes that have emerged from the Good Works community over the years:

Worship – Worship is at the heart of discipleship, service and community.

Integrity – A strong commitment to integrity means that how they do what They do is crucial.

Perspective – Understandings and commitments are fundamentally shaped by what we allow ourselves to see and experience, where we locate ourselves, and which sets of lenses we use to gain clarity of vision.

Friendship – Forming relationships with people who are different from ourselves allows us to understand God’s kingdom in fresh ways.

Leadership – Reflections on leadership from within community can offer important guidance and correction.

TeamUP+ – Additional Helps for Bringing Hospitality Home

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Earlier this year, I introduced you to the concept of Building Bridges to Your Neighbors. The intent was to learn how to build bridges of hospitality from your members’ homes to their neighbors.

Featured in that article was a TeamUP (Auxano’s eBook series) called Bringing Hospitality Home: Helping the People BE the Church Everyday. (you can download a copy here).

During the original research and writing, I came across so much good material that we couldn’t use because we wanted to keep the TeamUP short. So I developed a series of seven short TeamUP+ documents – one for each of the seven main points in the original TeamUP.

Click on each below to download them.

I hope you will find the TeamUP and the additional TeamUP+ as useful tools to expand your hospitality to your neighbors!

The Importance of Being Present in the Moment

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We know it when when we feel it, and we know it when we see it, but presence is hard to define. On the other hand, most of us are quite good at describing the lack of it.

Amy Cuddy

Presence arises from a sense of personal empowerment, enabling us to be deeply connected with our authentic selves. In this psychological state, we can maintain a strong presence even in the midst of highly stressful situations that typically lead to distraction and a feeling of powerlessness. When we experience presence, our speech, facial expressions, postures, and movements seamlessly align, creating a synchronized and focused demeanor. This internal harmony is not only tangible but also resonant because it reflects our genuine selves. The pursuit of presence is not about cultivating charisma, extraversion, or meticulously managing the impressions we make on others. Instead, it revolves around fostering an authentic, powerful connection within ourselves.

This type of presence is achievable through gradual changes. There’s no need for extensive pilgrimages, profound spiritual revelations, or complete inner transformations – while these are valid pursuits, they can seem overwhelming, abstract, and idealistic to many. Instead, let’s concentrate on moments – a state of psychological presence that endures just long enough to guide us through challenging situations where the stakes are high, such as job interviews, tough conversations, idea pitches, seeking assistance, public speaking, and similar scenarios.

True presence is about the ordinary and the everyday; it’s accessible to everyone. The key is learning how to summon that presence, especially during life’s critical moments when it tends to elude us.

In the context of modern elders seeking to be truly present to others, the concept of presence aligns with the idea of being fully engaged, attentive, and authentic in interpersonal interactions. Here are some key aspects to consider:

Mindfulness and Awareness: Modern elders aiming to be present prioritize mindfulness and self-awareness. This involves consciously focusing on the current moment, setting aside distractions, and being fully attuned to the person or situation at hand. By cultivating mindfulness, modern elders can create meaningful connections and contribute more effectively to the well-being of others.

Active Listening: Being present also involves active listening. Modern elders strive to genuinely understand others by listening with empathy, suspending judgment, and responding thoughtfully. This not only fosters better communication but also demonstrates respect for the perspectives of those around them.

Authenticity and Vulnerability: Modern elders seek to be authentically themselves in the presence of others. This involves embracing vulnerability, sharing personal experiences, and being open about one’s own journey. Authenticity enhances trust and creates a supportive environment for learning and growth.

Cultivating Emotional Intelligence: Presence extends to emotional intelligence, where modern elders are attuned to their own emotions and those of others. By navigating emotions effectively, they can foster positive relationships and provide meaningful support to younger generations.

Balancing Technology and Human Connection: Modern elders are mindful of the role of technology in their lives and its potential to create mental clutter. They actively manage their digital presence, ensuring that technology enhances rather than hinders their ability to connect with others on a deeper level.

Time Management: Being present also involves effective time management. Modern elders prioritize their commitments, creating space for quality interactions with others. This may involve setting boundaries, delegating tasks, and focusing on activities that align with their values and goals.

Continuous Learning and Adaptability: The concept of being present extends to a mindset of continuous learning. Modern elders remain curious, embracing new ideas and perspectives. This adaptability allows them to connect with younger generations and stay relevant in a rapidly evolving world.

By embodying these principles of presence, modern elders can fulfill their role as mentors and guides, providing valuable support and wisdom to younger individuals while creating a positive and enriching environment for mutual growth and learning.

And of course I’ve got a bookshelf of resources related to Presence that I’m working through. They will be appearing in future Wednesday Weekly Reader posts.