Paths Untraveled

Do we realize that we are different people because of this past year?  We have been changed: in how we see ourselves, how we interact, and what we want from life.  Normal is no longer normal: it has become elusive.

I have spent some of these last 14 months cleaning out closets and boxes in the garage.  Years of personal history and forgotten memories have surfaced as today's light shines into boxes reopened, boxes with Past Treasures Saved.

What opportunities have you had in life?

Questions have emerged during this Clearing Out and Life Review -- questions spawned from curiosity, not regret.  For instance, I wonder if there are:

• Conversations not explored? 
• Questions not asked?
• Assumptions not checked out? 
• Memories not remembered?

What would life have been like if I had:

• Remained a second grade teacher or a youth minister?
• Been ordained and followed a ministerial path?
• Stayed in Human Resources or at the university where I worked for over 23 years?
• Moved into full-time consulting and mentoring?
  

 

Do you sometimes go against the flow?

I feel no regrets on the path I have chosen.  I have been blessed beyond measure with work opportunities and challenges, new skills learned and tested, and relationships where love and caring have been shared.  Life's Journey is ongoing: making decisions, reflecting, choosing new adventures and growth... moving along, aging... and hopefully, becoming wiser.

 

I guess that is what I am most surprised at in today's news-filled:  people wanting to get back to the life they had; politicians blocking exploration of solutions for today's needs; and a desire to Go It Alone... as if any of us have all the answers!

How often do you stop and reflect on your journey?

The questions and curiosity I am noticing is about what I have learned about myself, others, and the World Unexplored.  What more can be learned?  I am ever-changing, and so are you!  This is the reason why curiosity is so important:  I thought I knew you... but we have changed!

 

The journey isn't about arriving.  Instead, upon reflection, I am aware of the choices made, paths traveled... AND... what could have been when choices and paths are left untraveled.

 

Not regret or loss, just reflections on blessings received, shared, and unopened.

 

 

May Boxes Unopened surprise you this week with time to reflect... and wonder.

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

The Blessings of Anniversaries: Part 2

As I continue to reflect on a seemingly Lost Year, I have wondered and explored lessons I have learned about myself and others.  I appreciate hearing the insights you have shared with me... where you have learned to:

• Grow in faith and trust
  
• Live one day at a time 
• Anticipate a less frenetic lifestyle
• Focus on the quality of engagement in the present moment
• Become less silent when it comes to injustice and bullying
• Invest time in listening
• Work hard on taking care of my health
• Draw closer to my loved ones
• Work in my garden
• Help others grieve with all we have lost
• Welcome being humbled, more compassionate and caring
• Appreciate milestones that mark the Passage of Time
  ("Is it already time to take out the garbage?!")
  

 It seems that even in darkness, we hope for light and beauty!  We seek to learn and become.

What has brightened the dark days of this pandemic?

If we have learned so much about ourselves, others, and the relationships that are important, is this really a "Lost Year" then,?  Maybe not!

Over the last few weeks I have reviewed the photos I have taken this past year.  Though these photos do not number in the thousands as in past years when I was able to travel, the 2020 photos focused on the local beauty of my city and county, loved ones and friends, and the simple aspects of my life.  Life is special!

What beauty have you noticed this past year?

  

I also notice that I am comparing previous years and experiences... What Used To Be.  It is as if the comparison will validate what I know or have experienced:  I want to connect the dots and bring value to my current situation.

I recall a rafting trip down an Alaskan river several years ago.  We learned the importance of working with the river, using the oars to guide our direction, and working with the energy of the river.   Being in the raft gave us height above the river, allowing us to look ahead and anticipate our next move.

When have you controlled the direction of your life?

But this COVID year has thrown us into the River of Life, where we are no longer in control.  Maybe the lesson is to flow with the changes that are happening.

This thought reminded me of a younger self that liked to body surf the river: a life preserver kept me buoyed above the water.  Our guide taught us to face forward, trust in the life preserver, and position our feet forward in a half-extended position.  When approaching an obstacle, the feet would take the impact, retract, and then help us to bounce back in the direction we needed to flow.  I found this flowing so much more fun than controlling the river raft... but, being in the river, meant I could no longer see farther ahead.  It seems that we have a few choices to make in the weeks and months ahead:  control versus flow; anticipating versus accepting.

As we consider this next week, maybe we could:

• Loosen our need for control;
• Practice flowing with the present moment; and,
• Position ourselves to trust the lessons, values, and experiences that preserve who we are - compassionate and caring people who desire the best for everyone.
  

Please continue to share your thoughts and reflections on this one year anniversary:

• When have you controlled?  When have you flowed? 
• When have you trusted?  What obstacles have you bounced off and survived?

 
May this next year deepen the lessons we are learning.

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)