The Old Ball and Chain with Eileen Clegg

Passion Phase: Elder Practitioner (15-20 Years)

Eileen Clegg; USA–Bodega Bay, California; Background: Author, Journalist; Anthropology of Symbols, Physcology; http://www.visualinsight.net/

While Eileen and Visual Communication are the old married couple...don't let the title, "The Old Ball and Chain" fool you. They are a happily committed longterm pair who've shared many magical moments. The two met back in 1999 through David Sibbet and have been inseparable since. "The best date ever was getting to do the Visual Facilitation for The Nobel Peace Prize Youth Summit in Norway in 2013. It was not just my own experience but being able to translate for these international, brilliant young people that made the experience so fulfilling." 

"Our relationship has always been pure and joyful. I never grow tired of it." The marriage has opened Eileen up to a deeper understanding symbols. "Now, I trust the symbols to speak to me and participate in the storytelling. I look to see what symbol has emerged. My favorite example is when a group kept going back and forth between their value chain and complaints about issues they were having. I'd draw the chain across the page and those gripes off in a corner eventually linking them. During the final viewing of the work someone said, 'OMG, it's a ball and chain!' They were being weighed down by the unresolved issues that kept them from doing what they needed to fix their supply chain. Words capture ideas; images free them."

Eileen has garnered so much wisdom. "It's very important for all of us in our relationships to let people know how we work, what to expect from us and how we can best support them, because each of us has our style. The other side of that is when I make assumptions, overthink or try to impress. It interrupts the flow of a natural connection. My love helps me with that. It’s really opened me up to trusting and appreciating that there is a tangible creative spirit. We work together to harness that creative spirit. 

"What I want to say to my love that I haven't said before is whenever I forget to nuture the creative spirit that enables our relationship and I get lost in administrivia and all of life's creativity killers and neglect nuturing the wellspring that feeds our relationship–I am so sorry. We have to remember to have quality time away from clients, just us two."