Reflection

The alchemy of music and ubuntu

By 17 January 2018 January 23rd, 2018 No Comments

In the Finding Us in Music Groups – the music helps to make the space between us more intimate and also clarifies what is emerging in the we-spaces. When someone describes a precious memory – she is dancing with a beloved parent at the age of eleven in a kitchen to a Louis Armstrong song-  we can all imagine it. And empathise, Especially, when we hear that this was a regular ritual of a young girl who suffered the loss of that parent.  Our collective imagination is sparked by the story, given texture by the music. Then the presence of Ubuntu helps the group to feel together,  to experience their common humanity. We feel the other, we dance the other, we hear each other, therefore we become more human.

While every group is different, in the mixed alchemy of Ubuntu and music lie some powerful catalytic ingredients. They produce invisible glue that helps to create strong, caring  groups and  communities

This reflection comes from Barbara’s new chapter, Finding Us in Music: A Method for Deeper Group Engagement in Handbook on Individual and Organizational Transformation, edited by Judi Neale (Springer, 2018).

About Barbara

Barbara uses the power of music to help teams and individuals discover themselves and each other.

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