Launching phase two

For some reason, halfway through A Hidden Wholeness by Parker Palmer I got distracted by Other Books. Last week I picked it up again and an hour or two later found I had booked myself on (or at least 'applied for') a retreat run by couragerenewal.org in the US next summer. His trademarked approach is called the Circle of Trust, which apparently has no relation to this circle of trust, though I will have my eyes open for a lie detector machine. I never book things that far in advance. It's quite the thing. But I also have a good friend in the same city so I'll get to see her so that will be fun.

What I'd really like to do is have a bit of time off next summer, since I've only had about 2 weeks off this year (in April), what with overlapping schedules in my different jobs. I'd like to take time to re-align myself, much like my chiropractor is re-aligning my physical self, helping me heal from the crash but also relearn my posture and regain flexibility I had lost. I have found a direct and immediate connection between my sessions at the chiropractor (coupled with a new yoga dvd) and my mental and emotional wellbeing. I have absolutely no doubt that my physical and emotional self are quite literally connected, that my emotions appear to be stored somewhere around my shoulders. As such, I intend to try substantially harder to keep stretching, relaxing, learning and strengthening myself, both body and soul. Seriously, I should be in a commercial.

Part of my motivation for grabbing this retreat opportunity is that my student evaluations often mention that they feel I create a safe space, respect them and help them come out of their shell. I want to see if I can develop those skills more and ideally get out of an environment where that has to be coupled with grading and exams and (in particular) the teaching of linguistics. I told one of my work places that I can't teach next summer which was A Good Thing To Do. Last summer it was all I could do to physically drag my body into the classroom and make words come out of my mouth. So, you know, I took that as a sign. I like my job in Vancouver but the 3-hour round trip commute fills me with fear and loathing on a weekly basis. All in all, there are tweaks to be made in the job department and I think if I can put some work in, take myself and my 'inner voice' a bit more seriously and as worthy of attention, and be just a tad courageous, there might be a bit of a change in direction coming up.