In brief
What inspires people who put relationships at the heart of their work? Drawing on contributions from over 170 individuals and organisations on The Relationships Map, this piece looks at the most common sources of inspiration shaping relationship-centred practice in the UK today. A vibrant diversity of ideas, experiences, and ways of relating reveals 10 themes. Here, Mairi Lowe dives into the top three, and shares some resources kindly recommended by people on the map.
The Relationships Map is a directory of brilliant individuals and organisations across the UK working towards a more relationship-centred future. It is a space for anyone who believes in the importance of relationships to find one another, share ideas and resources, feel part of something bigger, and realise more than the sum of our parts.
When someone adds themselves to the map, one question we ask is, where do you get your inspiration around relationships from? We’ve found the responses don’t add up to a neat list of blogs and frameworks, but a vibrant diversity of sources of inspiration. These include organisations, books, people, approaches, podcasts, lived experience, artworks, reports, nature, and ways of thinking and being that help people to put relationships first.
Across the 170+ entries, there are 10 main patterns or themes of where people get their inspiration from (pictured below). We called on Claude AI to help us with this specific task of analysing the entries to discern the most common themes.
Here we dive into the top three, and list just some of the many recommended resources kindly shared by the people, organisations and collectives on the map.
1. Lived experience & everyday practice of relationships
“People watching my whole life” – Robert Woolf, Made Open
Perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the most common sources of inspiration is people’s own relationships. Entries mentioned conversations with colleagues, partners, organisers, families, volunteers, on-the-ground practitioners, children, and young people; as well as connections with communities and networks, and experience of facilitating and working with groups. Strong, healthy relationships are both the process and the outcome of relationship-centred practice.
“We get our inspiration around relationships everywhere! It’s frequently from conversations with other people who work relationally, so each and every one of these practitioners are our primary source of inspiration. We also love the inspiration we gain by being part of different networks and communities, such as the Better Way Network, Social Care Future, the HLS Collaborative, Lisa Cherry’s new Breaking the Boundaries Collective, etc.” – Gabriel Eichsteller, ThemPra Social Pedagogy CIC
“Our inspiration comes from our volunteers and from our community who, in turn, share their experiences, bringing inspiration from their workplaces, networks, friends and families. I have no doubt that many ideas come from other places, but they arrive with us filtered through the minds of those we talk to and listen to.” – Abigail Woodman, East London Waterworks Park
2. Systems thinking, complexity & regenerative practice
People aren’t just saying relationships matter – they’re saying relationships are how the world’s living systems are held together. This complexity worldview recognises relationships as the organising force: the infrastructure and heartbeat through which life works and change happens. It invites us to pay attention to the patterns of relationships and how we can intentionally reshape them towards the kinds of systems and futures we want.
“I’ve been particularly inspired in recent years by a few initiatives. These include the Human Learning Systems initiative, the work of the Collective Change Lab, and the work of people like Nora Bateson, Jeremy Lent and Tyson Yunkaporta and other glimpses into worldviews – including Buddhism and Taoism – that see the world as fundamentally one of interdependence (balanced with autonomy). When one sees the world as a living, learning and loving system – a world with interconnection and compassion at its heart – and wants to help nurture a world that is increasingly like that, centering relationships becomes a must.” – Alan Hudson, living, learning & loving systems (advisor and coach)
“Systems awareness: Donella Meadows, Peter Senge, Theory U and Otto Scharmer, Margaret Wheatley, Donut Economics, Adrienne Marie Brown, Manifesto for Moral Revolution by Jaqueline Novogratz, Seth Godin. Workshops at the Academy of Systems Change and System of Systems Thinker speaker series at Systems Thinking Marin.” – Suparna Chibber, Yuj and The PNA
Recommended resources
Recommended by many people!
The Systems View of Life by Fritjof Capra and Pier Luigi Luisi
Recommended by Sarah White, Relational Wellbeing Collaborative
Recommended by Bec Davison, Rippleshift
3. Wisdom traditions, spirituality & moral philosophy
Underneath the systems language is a shared belief: how we relate is a moral and spiritual question, not just a technical one. Many faith traditions, Indigenous knowledge systems, and philosophies understand relationships as foundational – shaping identity, responsibility, and belonging, and grounding ideas of care, reciprocity, and accountability to one another and to the living world.
“Tyson Yunkaporta is an indigenous Australian that deeply understands the connections between place, story, knowledge and community. For example, his idea of identity is not individuality or descriptions of interests and personality, but a web of relationships that is held collectively, a pattern connected to people, place and events.” – Dylan Kanagaratnam, designer, learner, collaborator
“Ubuntu more than deserves a mention, not least because it demonstrates that many traditional and indigenous cultures have a beautifully integrative perspective on human relationships and deeply understand interdependence both between people and nature. There’s much inspiration to be gained from connecting with Ubuntu’s wisdom and practices.” – Gabriel Eichsteller, ThemPra Social Pedagogy CIC
Recommended resources
Indigenous Healing by Rupert Ross
Recommended by Alli Myatt, The Equity Practice
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Recommended by Aysegül Sirakaya, Abyss Consulting
Put yourself on the map
We hope you find these sources of inspiration and recommended resources valuable, and we encourage you to explore more on The Relationships Map. We’d love for you to leave a comment below sharing your thoughts on the 10 themes and which ones (or any others) most influence your relationship-centred practice.
“What runs through all [my] inspirations is a fundamental understanding that relationships aren’t separate from any of these domains. They’re all pointing to the same truth: we are fundamentally relational beings, and any system—whether it’s education, business, environmental stewardship, or community development—that doesn’t center relationships will ultimately fail to achieve what matters most.” – Yasmina Hasni, AKAR Family
Anybody who believes in the importance of relationships can put themselves on the publicly accessible map – and help connections to be made, ideas to be shared, and resources to flow.
If you’d like to be on the map, get yourself a cuppa, perhaps gather your fellow travellers, and tell the rest of the field about why relationships matter to you (we reckon it’ll take about 15-20mins).
It’s so reassuring to read this post, to recognise that we’re not alone and to honour ancient traditions who held onto their wisdom despite the brutality of colonialism. Thank you Mairi for gathering us together around your writing.
Hi Finn, thanks so much for reading and sharing your reflection. I am glad the piece brought you reassurance!