I am a tender observer

In the quantum realm, the presence of an observer is never neutral. The "observer effect" reveals that the act of observation itself alters the outcome of what is being observed. At this fundamental level of reality, perception and presence are forms of participation. To observe is to engage—to shape the unfolding with one's awareness. That is why observing is actually plenty of doing.

This insight finds a profound echo in the philosophy of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who championed a form of perception he called "tender empiricism." For Goethe, to observe was to enter into a relationship with the observed—mindfully, vulnerably, and with reverence. As he wrote, “Every object well-contemplated opens a new organ of perception in us.”

Goethe did not seek to dominate or dissect the world, but to merge with it. He lingered with openness, allowing the object of his attention to reveal itself in its own time and its own terms. In doing so, he held the space for the process to emerge and self organise. This activity he found deeply transformative. He argued that when the observer and the observed become entwined, in that space , new qualities—previously invisible—emerge, changing both the perceiver and the perceived.

This is the posture I bring into my work.

As a tender observer, I do not impose, fix, direct, or even coach in the conventional sense. I hold space—gently, with reverence and with unwavering trust in the process. I accompany my clients through the liminal space with presence rather than agenda.

I do not lead the process. I become one with it.

I allow it to self-organize, to reveal itself through its own innate intelligence. I believe the intention behind our attention is the most profound generative force—one that allows new patterns, meanings, and directions to emerge.

This practice requires discipline. It asks me to suspend the urge to assume, to resolve or conclude, and instead remain receptive to what wants to arise and express itself. With each new layer of perception, something shifts not only in what I see—but in who I am. I recognize that through tender observation, I participate in the emergence of new realities.

Paradoxically, by letting go of control, I create the deepest resonance.

I have witnessed again and again how the simple act of sustained, tender attention becomes catalytic, how it allows the liminal space to speak, and how those I accompany begin to hear their own wisdom, their own rhythm, their own becoming.

To observe tenderly is to trust Lifes mastery and mystery. It's to be certain that transformation is taking place, that the energy shifts and will manifest itself in the outcomes beyond our imagination.

"Tenderness personalizes everything to which it relates making it possible to give it the space and the time to come into existence, and to be expressed. Tenderness perceives the bonds that connect us, the similarities and sameness between us. It is a way of looking that shows the world as being alive, living, interconnected, cooperating with, and codependent on itself."

Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel Prize in litterature 2018