I have been clearing through years of clutter in my home: papers I had meant to file or get rid of; “stuff” that I have accumulated that both holds memories of my life that I wish to hold onto, and things I should have let go of ages ago and for some reason haven’t. It has made me mindful of how full of “stuff” our lives are and how little space that can give us for reflection and allowing for new things to emerge, and how challenging that space can be when we do finally give it to ourselves. In contrast, I recently attended a 2 day retreat as part of an organisational discernment process of which I am a participant. We were given hours of open space as a large group of people with a variety of backgrounds and from a variety of countries to simply reflect on what the world is calling forth from us as individuals and organisations. I say “simply” but it was anything but simple. Given that much space with dynamic, engaged, intelligent, transformational thinkers was amazing and at times truly overwhelming. I left feeling very full, and at the same time with renewed energy to take up new and old challenges with a clearer head. It reminded me of how important it is, amongst the hectic nature of my life, to take time out to reflect and allow space for new things to emerge.