Kathy and I head home after a great month in Spokane and at Gonzaga. I enjoy my time here and find the “pause that refreshes.” Part of this is paying forward which happens and the flow of time within this relational space. I see paying forward as a circle. Yesterday, we said good-bye to a colleague on his way home. He reminded me I lent him one of my papers his first summer here and how much that meant to him at a time he was ready to pack it in. I told him my first experience here was similar and someone reached out to me. I find the same thing in virtual community. It is harder to carry on conversations and build relationships, but I find a qualities that are unmistakeably human: care, reciprocity, and trust. I am grateful for the daily support I receive in each form of relationship.
Hearts open in time
The reward is worth the wait
We listen deeply.
A place of comfort
The circle invites us in
Its safe reach shelters.
Community calls
Alchemy not formula
Companionship grows.
I found this quote at Circle Toward Wholeness and it speaks to the circular nature of life and how gifts are constantly received and returned. The quote can also be found at Unitarian Universalist and Circle Fellowship in a more linear form.
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 