“If you have gained the trust of a horse,
You have won a friend for life.”
— Equestrian Co.
Ask and you shall receive. (That is if you are open to it and willing to be receiving.)
I am more comfortable with giving than I am with asking for help and gracefully receiving. And yet, when that happens, it is a wondrous experience. It requires me to let go of control, quiet my ego and my need to be the helper, and just let the exchange of healthy relationship take place. When I do, my world is put back into balance.
This last blog series was focusing on this long endurance race we have been cast into and how burnout was showing up and maybe side lining us from being our best selves.
It has felt good to confess my experience of burnout and to accept the helping support from others. When I have, I realize the trust I have in myself to receive and sit back and the trust I have built with others to just let our shared commitment rest upon all of our shoulders. What a valuable thing to understand as the trust foundation has been built over time.
I have appreciated other individual’s willingness to share their stories of their burnout and building readiness for our next phase of this marathon through the holiday season and into the dark days of winter. Their insights and plans have helped me to format my own.
It was an experience in the past few days that accelerated my healing and preparation for continuing down the metaphorical road into an uncertain future with a refreshed spring in my step.
After a year of planning, with postponements and great agility, a trusted and respected group of facilitators (including me) gathered a willing and stalwart group of participants together, safely. These individuals had committed, almost nine months ago, to a learning opportunity that would bolster self-awareness, contribute to a refreshed mindset, learn new tools, and practice the application of the context in nature with all of us as well as with a herd of horses.
The facilitator team weaved a content- and experience-rich design, the participants held on to the content and new relationships over time. Together, we shared the responsibility for keeping each other safe and supporting each other’s learning.
With masks on, socially distanced, and conscious of good protocol and individual boundaries, we gathered together. For all of us, it was the first time for this generative, face-to-facing learning since the onset of the pandemic. For all of us, it was a reset, respite, and cup filling experience.
For me, the cell phone was turned off, the list making put aside, my energies focused on good process, great conversation, and generosity of spirit. I reconnected with the joy of working in a team and dancing with all the curve balls that life throws (rain, cold, lost internet connection, and more).
Today, I reflect upon the experience that I let myself have. One which exceeded my wildest expectations and taught me many lessons.
Though separated by months, I still live and work in community;
I still am cultivating trust in my relationships; I can both give and receive and it feels so good;
I am a member of many tribes and carry their norms into my life even though it has been lived separately for a while;
I won’t let too many months go by before I will try this coming together safely again, as it has chased away the burnout;
The sun is shining (God laughs) and I am holding on to all the grounding and peaceful feeling generated by the experience.
I plan to skip back into the race and walk the next few miles admiring the fall colors. Who knows if I will pick up speed or just waltz through the next phase of this adventure? I know now more than ever it will be more fun if I stay connected to you.
Peace, Love and a little Dissent,
Leslie