These past few weeks have been “interesting” for me, which is an interesting word to use to begin with. It all started with an incredible 2-day workshop with Gail Larsen (the next one coming up in this ‘hood is here). Apparently, it doesn’t even take 2 days to bring a group of about 24 seeming strangers deep into their heart, the core of who they are, and the message they want to speak out to the world.
And it went onward from there, deeper and deeper. There were moments of profoundly rich and deep connections with friends, some of whom I have not seen in a while. And similar in look-and-feel moments with people I just met, yet know already they will remain in my life for a long time. What followed was an academic year-end weekend at Bainbridge Graduate Institute where one of my groups of students finished their first year, while another graduated with their MBA in Sustainable Business. Students called it a “leaky face” weekend. I do too.
“Someday after we have mastered the winds, the waves, and gravity, we will harness for God the energies of love; and then for the second time in the history of the world, human beings will have discovered fire.” – Teilhard de Chardin
Here I am thinking about these past few weeks, while listening to an annoying music waiting for an Air Canada agent to come on the line. It is a space of a fully open heart, that adds a very unique richness to the everyday experience of life regardless of what is actually happening. This richness expressed itself not by adding new colours to the daily experiences of various events, but rather by adding in shades of existing colours, mixing them up, and then gently and quietly spreading them in-between the existing ones without worrying about clear and distinct borders between the old and the new. The resulting palette is vibrant and exquisite…
And it impacts everything, whether appropriate and relevant or not. Being deeply touched and moved by a conversation with a friend might deem “appropriate;” so is listening to a Vinyl Café podcast by a master storyteller Stuart McLean. Yet, listening to the daily news and having the same experience might feel strange. Inappropriate. “What’s up with that?” kind of a moment. Still, the palette is there, deepening and enriching the experience of everything I am encountering these days. And, despite the possible strangeness of it, I find myself savouring the moments, perhaps better understanding Mark Twain’s “There are those who drink deeply and fully from the stream of life, and there are those who simply gargle” saying quite viscerally.
As I am flying early tomorrow morning with Air Canada, all that remains is to be deeply moved by having the flight be on time and have the threat of an impending strike removed. With fingers crossed, and heart open.
A sunny week to you all, inside and out.