A Real Flight... to Courage and Renewal on the Sabbath Road (Day 10)
Phil and Cathy Bostrom have been such gracious hosts to me! The world IS filled with good and beautiful people!
I awoke Monday morning at 5AM to the aroma of blueberry muffins! What a treat! Cathy had been up late worrying about her son who was travelling home to Florida from the Wild Goose Festival and she used the time to prepare muffins - this after preparing Blueberry Cobbler for our desert on Sunday evening! Boy was I being spoiled!!
Phil and I had engaged in an animated conversation the night before about how I would get to the airport and he won. He got to drive me. I am so very grateful for the graciousness of these folk I had never met before but who have welcomed me into their home even as they are in the midst of settling in themselves - a modern day example of desert hospitality! Phil and Cathy, I do hope that as retirement allows you to travel that we might be able to extend hospitality to you should you travel our way!
Both flights were uneventful. I dozed and did some work on the computer and before I knew it I was in Milwaukee - greeted by a Harley shop next to a store selling cheese heads! Anna informs me that I need to bring one home for her! I really didn't know that she was a football fan - let alone a Green Bay Packer fan!!
I had a quick bite in the airport bar and made calls to the folk with whom I had arranged to travel to the retreat centre. Connections went smoothly and within a half hour of the last person landing, Evie, Marina, Cheiw and I were in the car Evie had rented heading to George Williams College.
First, let me say what a beautiful and restful space it is! The rooms are very comfortable, the meals are nutritious and tasty... and serve to enhance the wonderful community that I am a part of!
Our session began at 3PM and we ended for the evening on about 8PM... and my mind is still swirling with the possibilities and learning! Let me for now simply share with you some of the words that are stirring in my soul from last evening:
Sitting in an oblong circle of 40+ other persons followed by some small group time prepared me to enter into this space and time of reflecting on the habits of the heart... One of the questions that we were invited to reflect on in our small group time was: "What is the ballast in your life that needs to be set aside..."
I found this to be such an interesting question: ballast is something that is taken on to even a ship's keel when it has a light load and ballast is removed at other times depending on the cargo within the hold. It was a liberating experience to ponder what I have taken on - how "it" has kept my "keel even" and then to ask, "What of that ballast might be set aside now?"
If you feel so inclined ponder the habits of the heart below. If you want more information about them you can "Google that". Join me in pondering which of these "habits" is most easy of dominate for you? Which is more difficult or challenging for you?
I awoke Monday morning at 5AM to the aroma of blueberry muffins! What a treat! Cathy had been up late worrying about her son who was travelling home to Florida from the Wild Goose Festival and she used the time to prepare muffins - this after preparing Blueberry Cobbler for our desert on Sunday evening! Boy was I being spoiled!!
Phil and I had engaged in an animated conversation the night before about how I would get to the airport and he won. He got to drive me. I am so very grateful for the graciousness of these folk I had never met before but who have welcomed me into their home even as they are in the midst of settling in themselves - a modern day example of desert hospitality! Phil and Cathy, I do hope that as retirement allows you to travel that we might be able to extend hospitality to you should you travel our way!
I had a quick bite in the airport bar and made calls to the folk with whom I had arranged to travel to the retreat centre. Connections went smoothly and within a half hour of the last person landing, Evie, Marina, Cheiw and I were in the car Evie had rented heading to George Williams College.
First, let me say what a beautiful and restful space it is! The rooms are very comfortable, the meals are nutritious and tasty... and serve to enhance the wonderful community that I am a part of!
Our session began at 3PM and we ended for the evening on about 8PM... and my mind is still swirling with the possibilities and learning! Let me for now simply share with you some of the words that are stirring in my soul from last evening:
"What we need is here... it is within us, and between us."
"We will find commonality by going deep within our own wells... and the richness of our souls."
"The greatest revolution is a simple change of heart..."
I found this to be such an interesting question: ballast is something that is taken on to even a ship's keel when it has a light load and ballast is removed at other times depending on the cargo within the hold. It was a liberating experience to ponder what I have taken on - how "it" has kept my "keel even" and then to ask, "What of that ballast might be set aside now?"
If you feel so inclined ponder the habits of the heart below. If you want more information about them you can "Google that". Join me in pondering which of these "habits" is most easy of dominate for you? Which is more difficult or challenging for you?
- An understanding that we are all in this together.
- An appreciation of the value of “otherness.”
- An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.
- A sense of personal voice and agency.
- A capacity to create community.
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