Finding Serenity: Relaxing in Your Gathering Place

If you've ever been to Avalon, Santa Catalina Island (CA), you probably know that the Catalina Casino is not a gaming facility.  Casino in Italian means "gathering place."  The Casino has served as a gathering place for big bands, dance competitions, organ recitals, and the first talking movies.

People still gather on Catalina to enjoy its laid-back atmosphere, warm coastal waters, and serene beaches.  And, like King Arthur's Avalon, this island and its Casino have become a place of refuge and healing for many.  There is plenty to do; but, more importantly, there is an island culture to slow down, walk everywhere, and soak in the beauty.

Where is your place of refuge -- the place where you seek serenity and time to heal?

Finding Serenity:  where is your gathering place?

As the westbound boat approaches Avalon and as I walk along the harbor side, I notice many leisure and fishing boats anchored in this safe haven.  The picturesque backdrop of houses stacked up the mountainside provides many places to enjoy views of the town, harbor, and mainland.

Where do you find a safe harbor with views outward, allowing beauty and peace to prevail in your life?

Finding Serenity:  where is your safe harbor?

I would assume that each one of us has a different safe haven which supports peace in our lives.  I wonder, though, instead of focusing on the negative or what is wrong in our families, friends, and communities, what would it be like if we shared views that bring harmony and joy?

I believe that it takes a desire and a discipline to refocus attention from the negative to the positive.  Practicing our dialogue skills of sharing openly, listening with the desire to understand, and asking questions to clarify (not condemn) will refocus and open new views not seen before.

Finding Serenity:  what do you focus on?

As you might tell from these blog entries, I love the art of photography: the ability to refocus a landscape, to capture the unexpected, and to hold gently the memories of our relationships with one another and our world.  I know that my thousands of digital photos can be erased with a few steps (delete - yes - erased).

Sometimes, to find a place of serenity and safety, it takes a few intentional steps to let go of the past and to seek a new view.

May this week allow each of us time to discover or reclaim those places or memories that bring safety and serenity!

Blessings as you refocus and anticipate the unexpected!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

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