If I could swing a volleyball net grid....that'd be sweet.

For real though, I have.  We went on retreat two weekends ago – my last official JVC retreat ever – and scored an awesome soft tan, thanks to the wide open meadow, endless games of soccer and volleyball, beaming beautiful sun, and several intentional directives to go soak it up, while reflecting on and SAVORING moments over the past year, both from within community and in the workplace.  (Nice to soak up some pure Vitamin D…living in Seattle grants a tan line similar to ‘blogging.’)

The theme was Ignatian Discernment, and entering with quite a solid grip on those principles, whoa buddy that stuff never gets old.  It’s so applicable to every stage of life and any decision, minor or major, one is faced with.  Do I move home or start anew or stick around?  Do I pursue an MBA, MSW, a JD or MA in French? The take home?  Go with your gut.  The place that lives 3 inches behind your belly button.  After listing out advantages and disadvantages to both options (e.g. Staying in Seattle, Not staying in Seattle – 4 columns total), underlining those that speak to you most, and then pretending to select one of the options and holding that for a few days, how do you feel?  If it feels right, if it feels freeing, DO it.  If not, go back, make the other decision, and sit with that for a few days.  Oh the beauty of a spiritual director to help navigate this ….

We also talked about fears.  Moving out of the structure of JVC, away from the women and men we have come to so intimately know, love, fight with, play with, celebrate and celebrate alongside, what about our intentional lifestyle will I take with me?  How will I hold myself accountable to sustainability?  What are my values now that I no longer have the JV auto-response explanation?

We were offered tons of incredible words for contemplation. When Death Comes by Mary Oliver and Cast All Your Votes For Dancing by Hafiz were among my favorites Jack Kennedy – our facilitator – offered us as we relished over the encounters we don’t want to forget.  Our “liturgy” was amazing – completely orchestrated by us and not really traditional, I think my favorite part was either the music (included Eddie Vetter’s “Hard Sun” and the use of random objects for percussion), or the petitions which we all contributed to /wrote together.  I guess the campfire site was pretty baller too.

Some pics from retreat:

Check out the open space behind us - let the games begin! (Also, worth noting are the homegrown snap peas we were munching on....YUM)

Chabbey crew. gOSH I'm gonna miss these peeps

LOVE the random pick up singalongs

soccer in the background, but you can kind of tell how we were sunk in a valley surrounded by the Cascade mountains on every side - you wouldn't believe the STARS at night

don't be decieved - that water is FREEZING. But it certainly sounds delightful at night from your tent rushing by