Guarantee

Earlier in the week, I mentioned participating in the first CTI Co-Active Men’s Fundamentals workshop.  At that time, I didn’t go into details.

First, there were 24 regular guys who showed up with courage and humility, revealing real stories that demonstrated a common challenge to present as strong, while having weaknesses and fears.  These stories were compelling, but personal.  One challenge for me is to give fair testament to the weekend, without breaching the confidentiality we share.

Furthermore, I experienced a wide spectrum of thoughts and feelings, and I needed a little time to sit with them all.  I feel that I did a lot of emotional unpacking, and some of the work I have to do now is to face the throwing away of crap that isn’t serving me anymore.  Even stating that feels powerful!  Part of what I learned about myself this past weekend is that I’ve been living in my story, which just keeps me stuck in the same thoughts, emotions, and outcomes.  Man, that’s exhausting!  Working with others, on them and myself, allowed me to feel how I’m just spinning my wheels.  Too often, I don’t look outside the story to what I want to do to change it, and even when I do take that look, I still don’t move on from it.

Waiting for The Guarantee

Over the weekend, I heard many powerful quotes that really resonated with me.  But, the most powerful words with which I connected were spoken spontaneously by one of the other participants.  His role in that particular exercise was to follow his intuition and “Blurt.”  He followed his gut and rephrased the client’s statement, asking the client, “When was the last time anything in your life came with a guarantee?”

That got my attention.  How often do I want to get “all my ducks in a row” before taking action?  When do I ever know anything for certain?  How boring would life be, really, if I had certainty about everything?

I can choose to live my life as the adventure it is, with challenges, ups and downs, victories and failures.  I can ground myself and trust that within me is that individual who is naturally creative, resourceful, and whole.  And, the power of community and connection doesn’t just add the spirit and energy of everybody; it multiplies it.

Enough spirit and energy to Light Me Up and Brighten Our World!