Here I sit at the airport as I wait to depart to Asia for two weeks of adventure, presentations and orphanage visits with several friends and colleagues.  It is a time of introspection when I go this far away to open my heart to the unknown.  That is retreat. To take time away to be still, ask bigger questions and reflect upon my life and purpose.  It begins by separating myself from the familiar, the tasks, responsibilities and busyness of the day and asking the questions; “Am I really living the way I want to live? Is this the life that I was given to live, be and do? Is what I choose to trade it all for meaningful?”

To have a deeper life, a life filled with meaning, I need to step back and ask deeper questions.  It’s within the quality of my questions that I invite new discovery into the fabric of my life.

To step back is to retreat, yet retreat is not surrender. When I step back I reflect on my deepest values and priorities and seek areas of alignment.

I invite you to share in my questions, asking yourself: “Do my beliefs, goals, and values match my own behaviors? What are the deeper voices within my heart saying about the work, relationships and activities that make up my day? What if they are telling me the truth about who I am and about the course of my journey? Will I listen?”

It’s possible that the quiet whispers within you are not supposed to go away until you respond. Maybe it’s time to reshape the landscape of your future, work, family and life purpose.  Will you allow yourself, challenge and even force yourself to slow down and create space to be present to the answers?
The next two weeks I travel throughout Asia. The greater distance may very well be the distance from my head to my heart. Possibly the gift that I think I am to deliver to others is really a discovery of what is waiting for me. Will I be still, be present and allow all that this may bring?

I encourage you to take the time to make way for what’s next. Can you take the risk to let go of what stands in the way? Will you show up to embrace and hold up to the light the promptings of your spirit that give you the gift of a different, more authentic, fulfilled future. Celebrate who you were created to be Say yes to all of you.

A friend is experiencing her father’s struggle with cancer. There are all the treatments and the hope of a healing.  Then a few nights ago I received a text message imparting the deep awareness of the impending loss of Dad.  An exchange ensued, which if you reflect upon it, is our common journey with loss, change and the unknown.

Friend: I need prayers for my dad, please!

JC: Praying…

Friend: Thanks, bad news.

JC: Yes and trust.

Friend: I’m trying.

JC: Yes, and it’s really hard and it’s supposed to be.

Friend: Doesn’t make it easier to see the suffering. My pain is irrelevant. My dad lived a good life. He deserves much better.

JC: All pain is relevant.

Friend: I understand. The reality still hurts. You understand.

JC: Yep and you will in time.

Friend: I don’t’ know. All I know is hurt now.

JC: Then hurt.

Friend: I am.

JC: Then you are present.

Friend: I’m in an emotional crisis. I thank you for your prayers. They mean a lot to me.

JC: Goodnight and peace.

Everyone suffers from time-to-time, as it is part of the human condition.  Pain and loss are their own teachers. If you trust, then the process of suffering will introduce you to new gifts of discovery and growth. Please don’t cheat yourself out of this and be gentle and patient with yourself within the void of the unknown. Loss is supposed to hurt… and you hurt to heal. In a profound way, the pain is for you and for your growth.