Idea Hospitality

 "There is no hospitality like understanding." Vanna Bonta

Hospitality is the act of cheerful welcoming. We experience hospitality all the time from friends, family and those who serve us in formal establishments like a hotel or restaurant. But it is likely that the most memorable hospitality is what you receive during your travels. Why is that? 

There are many reasons but one stands out. When traveling, you are in new surroundings and it is a great relief when you are welcomed into a safe place. If you and I were sitting together having this discussion, we could each share deeply meaningful acts of hospitality we have experienced as we journey. 

Recently I experienced a unique act of hospitality. Lake Geneva is embedded into the Southern Wisconsin hills in the midst of farmland and forest. It is a beautiful lake and since the 1800's it has been a place where Chicago residents would escape the Summer heat and get away from the busyness of the city. 

Usually lakefronts and beaches in the United States are very hard to access, beyond the public spaces set aside. But Lake Geneva is different. A culture of lakefront hospitality developed over the years. This takes the form of a path. Even though most of the lakefront is privately owned, there is a trail along the entire lake's edge. This means that a public path cuts through over 20 miles of private lakefront land. 

What is even more unique is that each owner is responsible for their segment of the trail. The pictures in the collage above show only a few of the many pieces of the path. Some of the sections are manicured while others grow wild. But each small segment welcomes the lake traveler in its own way. And behind each of those paths is the owner of a home. 

As I walked the Lake Geneva path recently, I began to think about another kind of hospitality that relates to being a Generous Mind. Just like the traveler who benefits from the generous hospitality of a friend or service worker on their trip, a thinker benefits from the generous hospitality of others as they develop their ideas. 

Developing a new idea is much like a trip. You have to set out on a journey of thought and you end up in places you never imagined. In those new places that are unknown to you, hospitality is most welcomed. A traveler finishes up their day of driving, flying or hiking tired. Similarly, a Generous Mind finishes up their day of ideating tired and needing a welcoming place to set down their idea, rest and prepare to pick it up again the following day. 

But unlike feeding someone a meal or opening your guest room to a friend who is traveling through, idea hospitality seems more etherial. What does it look like in practice? Here are three simple things you can do to show idea hospitality:

• Don't judge: Be willing to give hospitality to ideas without immediately judging them as good or bad, helpful or dangerous, sound or half-baked. An idea that is in process won't yet be ready for your judgement. But it will thrive in a welcoming environment.

• Give the idea shelter and rest: When ideas are on a journey of discovery, they need a safe space to percolate as it is further developed. Many amazing ideas have starved and faded because there was no place to stop and rest. No idea can withstand the elements without respite. 

• Assume the idea has been on a journey: Be curious about where the idea has been and where it is going. No idea that shows up at your doorstep is brand new. It has been percolating and processing to become what you see in front of you. It is also likely that the idea still has more traveling to do before it is ready to tell its story. 

Are you willing to show hospitality to the ideas that the people in your life are working on? Will you provide that safe space on their thinking journey for them to feel safe, get rest and resupply for the next phase of their journey?