surrounded by a sea of junk thoughts I navigate each day and each moment only somewhat connected to the other moments and days. those things that have connections in the structure of my life are interwoven without a great deal of thought on my part but rather more of a routine. where then does meaning in life come into the daily navigation of my time? is it sufficient to suggest that my meaning comes in my roles in this life as a father, husband, friend, worker and so on? is my meaning in the tasks that I carry out for each of these roles and my thoughts only have meaning when tied to those task actions?
where then does writing to an unknown audience come into play? it is a selfish thing inside of me, my ego, hoping that I would get recognition? part of me hopes that in addition to the influence on my children that I leave a legacy of documenting my thoughts and sharing them that they might contribute to someone else’s journey and lead to either further discovery or perhaps a conclusion. with our universe as complex as it is, and our human nature so very evil on far too many occasions, I think there is so much more to the story then we realize. I think if only we could find more efficient ways to work together to communicate, share and reduce our negative impact we would continue to discover innovations in our thoughts and minds like those we have seen in the past. sadly, I think our current society is enjoying the pleasure ride a little too much and so cooperation and conversation takes a back seat.
I have been leading a full day workshop on coaching in the workplace over the past months on 5 occasions. Let me be clear, I am not an expert but rather playing a facilitation role in a safe environment to learn about practices for how we work together. I have a craving to turn it into a non-work workshop on compassionate co-operation, conversations and coaching and replace some of the rigid structures that are within it with spiritual structures that help us better tap into our inner being that is connected to a whole lot more. The craving is partially driven by my desire to be in such a workshop.
I went back to school to get a university degree from 2002-2006 and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the classroom discussions and the learning that took place there. In 2006 I attended the Midwest Renewable Energy Association Energy Fair in Custer Wisconsin and once again the workshops were my highlight. Since that time I can’t recall when I took in a good workshop that I could get myself full immersed into. I hear the occasional speaker who gets the thoughts going, and the pastor at our church is fantastic at doing just that as well, but I have a craving for being part of something more again.
The reality is though once you fill up your life with family events, work overload, renovations, repairs and entertainment it is no longer easy for the whole family to find a space where they can learn. The one exception, in our case is when we escape the city and head to the lake with the RV. That time in the green space exploring the land and water is such a profound learning experience. When the time after the kids go to bed is filled with adult conversations that just puts icing on the cake.
Somehow sitting around after a day hiking, exploring, boating, fishing, whatever opens us up to a conversation that is fun and often times deep and rich.
A wonderful event to share the beauty and richness of our planet with my family and friends and then end the day off with the beauty and richness of our minds. I feel so lucky.
