The Aperture Field Notes

What if purpose is not something we find, but something that becomes available when our lives align with who we are? In this essay, I explore the difference between purpose as self-sacrifice and purpose as coherent participation. For a long time, I confused being useful with reducing my own ability to simply be in service of something greater. But I’m beginning to wonder whether that frame is back...

What makes a neighbourhood? Through reflections on three very different communities (a prairie farming town, Vancouver’s Commercial Drive, and life in a dense urban neighbourhood) I explore how community changes as the places we live change. As our cities evolve, so do the ways we connect, belong, and care for one another. Perhaps the greatest challenge of our time is learning to listen across dif...

I recently found myself reflecting on one of my earliest attempts at empathy. As a child, I once gave my younger sister a birthday gift that consisted of the contents of my bedside drawer: a worn charm necklace, a collection of charms, and some fake money. I was thrilled with my own thoughtfulness. She was… less impressed. Looking back, I’ve come to realize that the lesson wasn’t about gift-giving...

Systems move through rhythms. Growth, consolidation, release, renewal. Yet culturally, we often treat any pause, slowdown, or restructuring as failure rather than recognizing it as part of how living systems evolve. In this reflection, I explore the cyclical nature of progress, from the seasons themselves to the long arcs of societal transformation, and consider whether we may be standing not at t...

I have been spending serious time lately considering the role of empathy and emotional intelligence in the world today. Like many, I find myself astonished by what I’m seeing across the world - acts that seem to disregard the very principles we have spent centuries developing as a human species. In my curiosity, I’ve been returning to the works of thinkers from the past, reading their original tex...

This is a short audio reflection drawn from a recent piece exploring a subtle shift in how we relate to inclusion, systems, and change. After spending time with a group of senior women leaders and reading a piece by Katrina C. Foster, I found myself sitting with a different kind of question.. not only why it is changing, but on why it feels like the signal is becoming harder to see. In this reflec...

This is the audio version of the essay: The Villainous Hero You can read the written version here: https://notes.theaperturefield.com/p/the-villainous-hero The Aperture Field Notes are reflections on clarity, leadership, and systems in transition, exploring how people and organizations navigate complexity, change, and decision-making. More at: https://notes.theaperturefield.com Get full access to...

This is the audio version of the essay: The Cost of Veiled Communication You can read the written version here: https://notes.theaperturefield.com/p/the-cost-of-veiled-communication The Aperture Field Notes are reflections on clarity, leadership, and systems in transition; exploring how people and organizations navigate complexity, change, and decision-making. More at: https://notes.theaperturefie...

Welcome to The Aperture Field Notes - audio essays and reflections on clarity, leadership, and systems in transition. These recordings are the audio versions of written field notes published at: https://notes.theaperturefield.com The Aperture Field is a strategy and systems advisory practice focused on helping leaders and organizations find clarity, improve decision-making, and navigate complex tr...

In this episode, Kari explores the quiet pressure that can emerge when joy becomes a measure of success, alignment, purpose, or awakening. Joy is beautiful. Joy is welcome. But when it becomes the emotional state we are expected to maintain, life can start to narrow around a subtle form of optimization. Instead of meeting experience as it is, we begin ranking moments by how joyful they feel. This...