Journeys through life
My father was a hard man, a deliberate man. Life made him so. At 17, blamed for the death of his younger brother in a riding accident, his mother threw him out of home. The brothers were experienced riders. It was young Louie’s first day at school and they went on horseback. On the return the horse reared, his foot stuck in the stirrup and he was dragged behind the bolting animal. He died in his brothers’ arms.
My father made his own way, not by choice. He was awarded the Military Cross in WWII and held the record for the shortest captivity as an Allied POW1. He retired early as a flag officer, much loved by all. He wanted to do other things in his Third Act. He went farming, built five houses, restored seven beautiful vintage cars and started his own company. His Work Journey was successful, but his Private and Personal journeys were not great, at least for those travelling with him.
I grew up in a broken home, my parents divorced when I was six. Very messy, traumatic and I, the pawn. While I was blessed in many ways, I carried trauma from my Foundational Journey, which has taken decades to deal with. On the positive side my father taught me focus, clarity, manners, delivering outcomes and principles of leadership.
I had his resilience and ability to deliver outcomes, but I struggled to be emotionally open and vulnerable. I grew up a bit like him, guarded and always ready for flight or fight. I joined the military, saw active service and decided that life was not for me. I have had five businesses, all successful (not always easy or smooth), but my Working Journey has been interesting and varied. I was married to a beautiful and wise woman for 30 years and have three great children.
When life takes a turn
Life changed fundamentally for me as I entered my Third Act. Everything in life is connected, we live our life, often unaware, in a rich fractal tapestry. Twenty years ago, I visited an eco-village, where I experienced a completely different way of living. Power, money, prestige, status and material wealth were not valued.
What was valued was being the very best you could be.
This was profound, I had never experienced such a Worldview. I loved it. I thought everyone needs to experience this. I pioneered two ecovillages, becoming a board member for the Global Ecovillage Network, an international NGO.
What did I learn?
Looking back, I understood my purpose has always been transformation and assisting in transitioning. I wanted to have a centre dedicated to helping people, organisations and society move to better places.
Neos Delta is the outcome, transformation is the reason we exist.
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