I remember the first time I encountered Nina Simons, the author of Nature, Culture and the Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership. She was speaking at a Bioneers Conference (Bioneers is an innovative nonprofit organization that highlights breakthrough solutions for restoring people and planet) almost five years ago. I hung on her every word and, in retrospect, now realize I was a woman listening for leadership. I couldn’t get enough of her and attended every session at which Nina was speaking. That was only the beginning.
In the past several years, I attended an intensive seven day women’s leadership gathering, (founded by Nina and two other women) Cultivating Women’s Leadership, at a retreat center in eastern New Mexico, heard Nina speak at the annual Bioneers Conference held every year and read another of her books: Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart. It has been truly a case of when the student is ready, the teacher appears. And Nina continues to be one of my teachers.
Nina’s latest book, Nature, Culture and the Sacred – A Woman Listens for Leadership, is the perfect book for this historical moment – a moment when the division between feminine and masculine is being redefined. Her book is all about allowing each of us to become fully human again and goes to great lengths to describe what that even means. Nina invites the reader to be inspired by women who are leading the way towards transformational change by cultivating vibrant movements for social and environmental justice. Her thoughtful, soulful, no holding back insights into her personal journey as someone clearly called to lead were food for my, at times, very tired soul.
What was one of my own big take-aways from her book? It made it very clear to me that leadership is more about finding the place where my own unique gifts and talents connect with a real need for reinvention in the world than anything else. I honestly don’t think this book is for everyone but if you are someone trying to make sense about what is going on in our crazy, mixed-up and, at times, painful world today, take the leap! You might discover what your own rare gifts of leadership are and become a part of leading the way towards transformational change by cultivating your own vibrant movements for social and environmental justice. There is so much at stake when it comes to the future of this great planet of ours and the more women find and use their voices for the greater good, the more hope I have about the possibility of living in a socially just and sustainable world. Here’s to finding and raising your voice!
Want to hear more? Listen to our podcast featuring the one and only, Nina Simons here!