What is The Balcony View?
The Balcony View explores ways to step back and connect with the bigger picture.
When we’re in the metaphorical ballroom of life it can be hard to grasp what’s really going on or what we even want. The Balcony View is a place to get perspective on life. As a concept, The Balcony View is like the overview effect- the cognitive shift reported by some astronauts while viewing the Earth from space- except that you don’t have to go into space to get it. My belief is that we can access these perspective-shaking states from planet Earth! This is why I am launching The Balcony View: it’s a project exploring the many ways we can zoom out from the ballroom and look at life through a wider lens. Thank you for joining the conversation and if you find these ideas helpful, please help us to share and spread the word.
We’re here because we don’t want to scroll through echo chambers that reinforce individualism and limited worldviews. We’re here because we want to step out of fixed thinking and view life through a wider lens. In a way that holds the paradoxes, not-knowing and delights in difference. Through articles, podcasts, videos and interviews, The Balcony View explores ideas that drive big-picture thinking, helping us to listen more deeply, see with more clarity and live in more conscious and connected ways.
If you have an interdisciplinary approach to learning & life then I hope The Balcony View can offer you space to step back and connect with the bigger picture. A place that explores diverse perspectives, different disciplines & divergent thinking to help us to make sense of the world (without algorithms or adverts!)
Whatever brings you here, I am so grateful for your support.
Why The Balcony View? Aren’t they the cheap seats?
When I go to the theatre, I love to sit in the stalls (if I can afford it!) For me, it’s all about getting right up and close with the cast and feeling immersed in the play. When I’m sitting in the balcony (or worse the gallery) I am more aware of the theatrical illusions: the lights, the wires or other audience members, which serve as continual reminders that I am only watching a show. Whilst The Balcony View isn’t so appealing from a smoke and mirrors standpoint, it offers valuable space for shifting and expanding perspective. A place where we can stay connected to the present moment whilst having an eye on the longer-term arc of change. The Balcony View isn’t about disconnecting and distancing: it’s a place that holds multiple perspectives. In this way, we can be simultaneously in the ballroom- with our families, colleagues & communities- AND on the balcony and connected to different perspectives, possibilities and potential.
Who writes this?
I’m Katie Churchman a coach, facilitator and storyteller based in London. I am the host of The Relationship Matters podcast and a director of Team Triad, a leadership development company helping leaders, teams and organisations unlock leadership potential.
Subscriptions Options
If The Balcony View piques your curiosity- even if just a little bit- then please subscribe! The easiest way to support the project is to subscribe to the newsletter and have new posts sent directly to your inbox. If you’ve already signed up, please share this with your friends.
I appreciate you joining me on this journey. I consider writing to be a relationship with self, others and the wider world. It’s an interconnected dance between writer and reader, who continually shape and change one another. So, I write with this relationship in mind and with a deep curiosity about where it might take us next…
Katie x
