“Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self, and give it the care it requires, we do so not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.”
- Parker J. Palmer
- Parker J. Palmer
In September I had the pleasure of working for a day with a group of Merit Scholars from Macquarie University in Sydney.
Where to from here? was the theme of the workshop, with activities that invited the students to consider their life direction and future options as they near the end of their degrees.
What a wonderful bunch of young people to work with! Deep thinkers who care deeply about others, the future of the world, and their place in it. They grabbed at the opportunity to step out of the busyness of their daily lives to reflect on some very big and very important life questions - about themselves, their journeys thus far, and the things in life that matter deeply to them.
I came away from our time together with a renewed sense of hope for the future, and also quietly amazed (in the best possible way) at how readily these young people grasped the importance to make time for reflection in our crazy, busy world today.
I love Mark Nepo’s poem, Breaking Surface, and how it invites us to reflect on our life journey and its possibilities…
Where to from here? was the theme of the workshop, with activities that invited the students to consider their life direction and future options as they near the end of their degrees.
What a wonderful bunch of young people to work with! Deep thinkers who care deeply about others, the future of the world, and their place in it. They grabbed at the opportunity to step out of the busyness of their daily lives to reflect on some very big and very important life questions - about themselves, their journeys thus far, and the things in life that matter deeply to them.
I came away from our time together with a renewed sense of hope for the future, and also quietly amazed (in the best possible way) at how readily these young people grasped the importance to make time for reflection in our crazy, busy world today.
I love Mark Nepo’s poem, Breaking Surface, and how it invites us to reflect on our life journey and its possibilities…
Breaking Surface
Let no one keep you from your journey,
no rabbi or priest, no mother
who wants you to dig for treasures
she misplaced, no father
who won't let one life be enough,
no lover who measures their worth
by what you might give up,
no voice that tells you in the night
it can't be done.
Let nothing dissuade you
from seeing what you see
or feeling the winds that make you
want to dance alone
or go where no one
has yet to go.
You are the only explorer.
Your heart, the unreadable compass.
Your soul, the shore of a promise
too great to be ignored.
- Mark Nepo
no rabbi or priest, no mother
who wants you to dig for treasures
she misplaced, no father
who won't let one life be enough,
no lover who measures their worth
by what you might give up,
no voice that tells you in the night
it can't be done.
Let nothing dissuade you
from seeing what you see
or feeling the winds that make you
want to dance alone
or go where no one
has yet to go.
You are the only explorer.
Your heart, the unreadable compass.
Your soul, the shore of a promise
too great to be ignored.
- Mark Nepo
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