Should you offer a ‘circle of sharing’ at a Firewalking event?

Not all firewalks are the same.

Some events are similar to say, skydiving or bungee jumping. A thrilling experience to tick off the list. Raise money for a good cause. And often have a drink and a celebration later.

Others are more introspective, personal and can be deeply emotional.

In my experience, integrating a circle of sharing into a firewalk will only benefit the walkers when the group has gathered for a specific and common cause that also impacts them personally and directly.

What is a circle of sharing?

We have all seen them in movies. We sit in a circle and each take turns sharing our thoughts, experiences and feelings. In the right environment, this is an extremely powerful and bonding experience. Truths are spoken, sometimes for the very first time. And everyone in the circle can sense the gravity of the conversation. There will be laughter, tears and intense emotions.

It works powerfully when say, a charity, runs a firewalk and all the walkers are directly impacted by the cause that the charity is fundraising for. We recently ran one and this comment was left on Faceboook…

‘I just wanted to say how honoured I was to meet you all and hear your moving stories . I feel like the whole afternoon was a huge bonding experience and it was really beautiful seeing all the love going around.’

Another comment read… ‘We did it! We shared, we cried, we screamed, we said Yes to love, courage, togetherness, connection and new possibilities.’

To hear the stories of others, of how they faced what often seems like impossible odds, and yet they are still here to share, well, it’s damn inspiring. This builds deep connections between the walkers.

If you do plan to integrate a circle of sharing, please do be responsible. The experience can be extremely intense.

It’s also difficult to manage timings as you can’t really tell people to hurry up, nor can you deny anyone their moment to share too. So there are some real and practical considerations before integrating a circle. We often have 25 to 30 people walking too, so the circle can be large and the session can run for many hours.

At least one team member should also have experience in running a circle of sharing too.  

All that said, a firewalk with a ‘needed’ circle of sharing will result in an experience that everyone who is present, will never forget.    

I will end with this pulled from a Facebook group post today…

‘I can’t explain what happened on Saturday night, but it was fucking amazing! I felt like an equal in the room with all you amazing ladies and I always feel like the shy, anxious, inferior one, that doesn’t deserve to be there. We walked on glass. We shared our courageous stories. We listened in awe to each and everyone’s heartbreak. We walked on fire!! And not just once either! Just incredible. Thank you so much to everyone for sharing your experiences, it was truly something special that we all felt .’