Overview

Description

An Evening of Good Questions: The Relationships We Haven't Been Taught How to Have

You’re invited to an experience of conversation, reflection & connection

Earlier this year, we gathered for ‘Freedom, Belonging & the Tradeoffs We Don't Talk About’ - a conversation about what happens when we choose unconventional lives and the freedoms that come with them.

One of the strongest tradeoff themes that emerged was relationships.

Many of us have created lives with more freedom, autonomy and choice than previous generations could have imagined. But alongside that freedom, we're also experiencing a deep longing for connection, intimacy, partnership and belonging.

And perhaps we're discovering something important:

The relationship models we inherited don't always fit the lives we're living now.

Some of those models offered security and connection, but often at the cost of autonomy and choice.

We don't want to go backwards.

But simply rejecting those models hasn't necessarily solved the problem either.

So perhaps we're being invited to pioneer something new.

• What if we stopped thinking we have to choose between freedom and connection?

• What if intimate relationships could be designed to support both?

• What does partnership look like when two people can be deeply connected without giving up their independence?

• How much togetherness feels right - and how much space?

• What does commitment mean when it's freely chosen rather than socially prescribed?

• What might we keep from the relationship models we've inherited, what might we leave behind, and what might we invent for ourselves?

This evening is an invitation to explore those questions together.

There will be very little presentation. Very good questions. And conversations you probably wouldn't otherwise have.

We'll use reflection cards and conversations in pairs and small groups to explore what we've learned about relationships, what we want to preserve, what we want to change, and what we might be ready to pioneer.

We'll focus primarily on intimate and romantic partnership, while drawing on friendship, family and other relationships as we explore the broader human tension between autonomy and connection.

There are no experts, formulas or right answers.

Just a room full of curious people exploring a question we may not have been given a very good model for answering:

How do we create relationships that give us both the freedom to be ourselves and the connection we're longing for?

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Meet Your Facilitator: Aenslee

Aenslee works as a leadership coach with founders, executives, and other high-performing individuals navigating the complexities of transitions, relationships, and the challenges that emerge with increasing success and responsibility.

Originally trained as an engineer, she has spent much of her career living and working internationally, building an unconventional path across countries, careers, and ways of thinking.

She is a lifelong athlete, and more recently has taken up ultrarunning as another way of exploring endurance, challenge, and what it takes to grow through discomfort. Her work sits at the intersection of leadership, performance, and human development, focused on the kinds of questions that don’t have simple answers.

https://www.aensleetanner.com/

Expect:

• Thoughtful conversation
• Small group discussion
• Personal reflection
• Diverse perspectives
• Meaningful human connection

Who Can Join: Open to anyone interested in exploring the realities of unconventional living, working, and personal growth.
Format: Facilitated open dialogue and group discussion
Experience Level: No previous experience required

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