Well, that was a surprise! 

Our May 22nd Network Provence meeting with Nora Jaccaud at Le Gare de Bonnieux promised to be a delightful afternoon of communing with the lovely ladies of NP under a sun-filled sky. This was temptation enough because all of our get-togethers are such a tonic, no matter what person is doing the presenting. Little did I know I was in for an instrumental skill highlight that would help me define a whole aspect of my profession.

 I confess I did not know much about Nora, our speaker of the day; apart from that, she is the daughter of distinguished art royalty, provencal/polish parents, a photographer/videographer of renown and has the best fringe in the Luberon. Here comes the surprise-she is also a professional in the art of “unconditional listening”, a skill she employs in her art form videos, @Human Postcards,  which she shared with us today. In her quiet, charming way, Nora disclosed some secrets about unconditional listening that would help anyone gain access to the world of people, both professionally and personally. She gently took us through some interactive exercises to demonstrate the power of this, proving a revealing and insightful aspect to her form of communication- one which was both familiar and obvious but often not precisely prevalent unless the intention was to focus on hearing the actual words of the one you are listening to. Nora left us all with a feeling of such thoughtfulness. It would be a great salve to humanity if we could all deepen our sense of hearing each other rather than simply listening to respond. I will happily look into Nora’s work and methods more, as the benefits of what she’s saying are manifold. 

We are fortunate to have such a group of interesting women to gather with. Besides our evocative speaker, we had a great time catching up with each other in the glorious sunshine, being a little irreverent and sharing a lot of laughter. The NP space always feels like a safe haven to enjoy the company of women, like-minded or not, from so many different ages and nationalities. Seeing each for their talents and stories and being seen by women one admires- well, it is the essence of Network Provence- connections- one of the most powerful values we hold dear.  

My last side note: I was impressed with the coincidence that many women brought information about friends’ upcoming events and exhibitions to share. Even though we would normally promote the happenings of members only, this group is so generous and feels that getting NP women alert to other events is valuable. I cannot think of a smarter way to connect oneself to the world of Provence culture and events than Network Provence. 

Join us soon and share in this connective experience!  

The next events will be on June 5 in Aix-en-Provence from 10 am to 12.00 and on June 25 at Racines’ wine shop from 5 pm to 7 pm. Please also keep an eye on @networkprovence and the Facebook group for more information about upcoming events.  

By Maryna Fontenoy for Network Provence