Stone House (a preview)

They say you shouldn't throw stones when you're in a glass house...I agree.

Using my detective skills I have learned where we will [most likely] have our first retreat as Johnson Interns. We arrive on Tuesday between 11am and noon and then head right out to the retreat before we even unpack or pick rooms. When I looked at the website for Stone Garden in Mebane, NC I tensed up. My mind shut down and latched onto every stereotype I could think of: hippies, tree-huggers, spiritualists, yoga...really?, dreads, dirt, outdoorsy, nature lovers. I had already decided in 2 minutes that this place was a joke. 

But I forced myself to stop and relax and consider what it might look and feel like to be open to the possibility of taking something from this experience. I imaged walking around the grounds and enjoying the outside. I thought about how much I was going to need my Jesus and how yoga (which is not my favorite physical activity; my Core can attest to this) can be a time of prayer if I want it to be. And for a minute I dared to imagine myself ENJOYING the Stone House retreat center.

Our hope is that when people leave the retreat, they're more solidly grounded in a path that will make them more happy and effective agents of liberation in all of the collective contexts they are a part of. These collective contexts in turn provide a space where the principles and methods can be more fully explored and challenged and lived into.

 ^^^I don't know what that means but I'm open to it :P

I am by no means above any of this and I have to remember that I have just as much to learn and gain from this experience as anyone else. Tuesday marks a fresh start to not hold anything back and not take anything for granted. 

My advice to you: be happy with the day you are in, while you are in it, and who you are in it.

My advice to myself: don't throw stones while in the Stone House

The best is yet to come,

~Adwoa