In recent years, within the European institutions, we’ve been exploring how to facilitate group work while walking in nature. The goals are the same as when we meet indoors – reflecting on complex problems, brainstorming, long-term planning, or shaping new policies.
But the experience is very different.
Indoors, we’re in familiar surroundings: walls, chairs, tables, screens, lights, heating, doors, windows. It’s comfortable, predictable, it helps a group feel safe enough to engage.
Outside, everything changes.
There are no straight lines, no thermostats, no chairs or flipcharts. The ground is uneven, the air alive with scents and sounds. Nature surrounds us with movement, silence, beauty and unpredictability. It awakens something deep within us. We feel small and vast at the same time. We reconnect with ourselves, and with the living world around us.
Recently, I joined a 3-day retreat for colleagues who facilitate walking sessions in nature. Ten of us were gently guided by Nikita Stampa Sophie Louveaux and Celia Pessaud in the forests around Orval Abbey in the Belgian Ardennes. We each explored a very personal question: “What is my true life purpose – one that serves myself, others, the institutions I work in, and the citizens of Europe?”
At first, I thought this task was too big. I had tried before, alone, without much success. But after two days of silent walks, deep conversations, doubt and wonder, I woke on the third day with clarity I had never felt before.
The evening before, I had sat alone and drawn my personal “coat of arms”. As my hand moved, something within me surfaced. It all came together – insights, emotions, questions, and answers – right there on the page. Nature, and skilled facilitation, had done their work. I doubt I could have reached this point in a meeting room.
I’m proud that the European institutions are embracing this ancient yet innovative practice, supporting staff, managers, and policymakers to reflect, connect, and grow.
To serve the society of tomorrow, we must first remember who we truly are, humans, among others, in and of nature.
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Some photos from the 3 days of the retreat, where I tried to capture the atmosphere of reflection, the energies, and the poetry, without showing faces.
Click on the photos to enlarge them from my Flickr gallery
