Come Monday afternoon when our work day has finished, a regular group of 10 to 12 staff from various teams working on site, gather in one of the empty classrooms for a very special storytelling session. Each week鈥檚 "wisdom circle" is conducted under the wonderful guidance of Mitch Ditkoff.
The room we enter is warm and inviting, set up with lanterns, fairy lights and a salt lamp in the centre to resemble a camp fire. Each week has different suggestions for stories to be told and shared. This week鈥檚 stories were themed on the impact of kindness and compassion, transforming hate to love, assuming the best in others, death and life鈥檚 mysteries.
"There is a certain enchanted mood in the room as we join the Wisdom Circle. Some come to listen, some come to share their own stories, and some are just curious. Whatever the intentions, we all leave feeling energised and looking forward to the next opportunity to connect through the powerful messages we learn from each other." - Ms Rahat
"I have found each Wisdom Circle I attended to be a safe space where I could share, open up, laugh, cry and sometimes just listen." - Ms Najma
"If you want to make a genuine and sincere connection with colleagues or just sit quietly and immerse yourself in profound story telling, the Wisdom Circle is for you! It鈥檚 not therapy, but it鈥檚 certainly therapeutic." - Mr Sitki
"The Wisdom Circles at our school have allowed us to pause, reflect and connect with our colleagues and fellow human beings. Hearing each other鈥檚 stories allows us to re-surface profound events and experiences that have been buried deep inside our hearts. Like it is said, the words of the tongue reach the ears, but the words of the heart reach the heart." - Mr Fazeel
If you like to find out more about Wisdom Circles for story telling, please visit the links below: