Some close friends have recently had accidents that are not good...at all. The losses, in the human scale of things, are not good...sad...time consuming...hard to understand and comprehend. I ache for our friends in thinking about what has taken place. No one is immune from hard, life-changing moments...no one...even our own family.
...HOWEVER...
The word...accident...or even accidental...can have some delightful, mysterious, creative perspectives to it. That, too, has been a major part of my life. Serindipities seem to often be lurking around the corners of my days. Such was late this past Saturday afternoon.
One of the sincerely remarkable developing leaders I've had the sacred privilege of mentoring for over 16 years now in early May began a long overdue six month sabbtical from his pastoral duties in the heartland of our country. Thanks to the gracious generosity of some friends, he began this time out from his "normal" routines at a condo in Frisco, CO.
Taking him from the extreme bustle of his life-work to a full week of silent retreat (...meaning hours per day of quiet and contemplation...to attend to his soul, first...but not totally no contact with others...) was not an accident...but well planned...leaving room for a few sacred surprises. Refreshment and renewal and rest and refocusing were the first "R's" he was encouraged to pay attention to.
Note: Please click on the four underlined phrases as you continue to read to catch the full flavor of this post...
Toward the end of his week alone up in Frisco (one of our favorite towns in those rocky hills in Summit County) he happened to wander into a glass blowing gallery...no accident, divinely speaking, as his creative sabbatical was getting under way. No accident at all...........!
This good man spent his last night in Colorado at our home, before driving back to his family several hundred miles away. We were totally engaged with him telling about his accidental moment of actually doing some glass blowing...not ever done before by him. John Hudnut, the artist and owner of the Gatherhouse Gallery, had helped him create a significant piece of art...which I picked up for him just this past Saturday when we were up in Frisco for two nights.
This olde man (that be me...) was mesmerized by all the leadership skills this artist was using to help this couple from Florida create a personal work of art, when, as with our friend, they had never done anything like this before. It was flat out stunning to hear him pour courage and confidence into them...and to hear them receive it.
Talk about significant mentoring taking place...even with an audience that had gatherd from off the street. We were all impacted just listening in. The delight in the faces of this couple, when the project was finished could have lit up any dark space on the planet.
John has invited me back later this fall to create my own piece of art. I plan to tak the time to do just that...and to talk over with him how what he does relates so well to developiong leaders...developing people...developing women and men into all they were designed to be and do...and not by accident.
This past weekend was life-giving to my wife and me as well...individually and as a couple...as we hiked some trails...breathed deep of the vistas...absorbed the lavish displays of wild flowers...and were nourished by bubbling brooks and rushing waterfalls...plus giving and receiving some extra deep and welcome times of conversation as our own lives continue to transtion. The moments at this amazing gallery seemed to bring home some of what I've been reading (...look to the left at my summer book list...some new books...and some olde favorites I've been reading again...).
Mentoring Mondays...#26 (which you have hopefull just read...), combined with the second reading just this month of Todd Henry's exceptional book, The Accidental Creative, and gleaning, personally, from the life-giving impact of the past 72 hours of my life, brought me to "need" to put a PS to MM#26. :-) I cannot encourage you enough to pay attention to what Todd writes about on his blog and in his book. His creative wisdom and excellent writing played a major part of in encouaging me to think through the questions I've asked in MM#26 for myself, as well as you, and those I'll be interacting with in future days.
There is, indeed, horror to some of the stories we've all heard in this past week, here in Colorado, and from around the world. No one knows when tragedy or dissapointment will strike...BUT...as Todd Henry so eloquently reminds us, and as John Hudnut so carefully encourages those who walk into his gallery, we dare not live in fear of either failure or success.
Todd writes on page 53 of The Accidental Creative: "If we don't stretch ourselves, we don't grow. Growth is uncomfortable, but without the discomfort our capacity doesn't remain the same, it shrinks. If we're not growing, we're dying."
Here's to your life this week...whether you are mentor or mentoree. Be looking for the "accidental surprises" that are waiting to be found for youself, and all you know.
...now Mr. Roberts...get to work...for there is creative work to be done!
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