I am a woman who is so, so lucky to be in a network of wise women of master retreat coaches from all over the US. This morning I was on a call with a few of these coaches and there was this theme, a thread, that ran through the hour long conversation. The strand was like this: The end of the first month in 2010 is rapidly approaching and “it’s so not what I expected” or “I’ m not walking a straight line with scheduling retreats” (Yours Truly). We spoke about women waiting… how we women spend a lifetime waiting…..waiting for our children to be born, waiting for them to take their first steps, waiting for our periods to start, waiting to find the love of our lives, waiting for our first job to come through…..we are women waiting.
And Helene Van Manen, our leader and retreat coach mentor Coach Helene sang us the song…
“We are women waiting
We are waiting
We are waiting for our children to remember to return.
We are women waiting”
I am waiting now for life to unfold in the manner it’s going to be this year. I know that I will be out on three military assignments; one of them will be with my beloved. I know that my son and his fiance are getting married. And I know that I will be 60 soon and that I will celebrate. And I know that everything can change in the blink of an eye.
This journey is one of trust. And as Michelle Burns Coach Michelle said on this call, “there is a gift in waiting and receiving. Remember the Divine Feminine.” I know that I have seen this feminine power so many times at my retreats…..women receiving support and help from each other. There is power in not knowing although it drives most of us crazy because we don’t know and it’s scary not to know. There is such power in waiting and trusting. Trusting that it will unfold in exactly the perfect manner for us to learn.
Other voices…. DianeMueller Coach Diane. “Realize the quality, not the quantity.” As masters level retreat coaches, this is what we do. We recognize that we are listening and waiting on a deep level to know what is right. And each of you reading this, I challenge you as well to really listen to your life now. I believe that it is in the quality of your day that counts, not in how much you can cram into the day.
And I was reminded by yet another wise woman on this call, Lois Perron Coach Lois that sometimes even though we can’t see it at the time, there is a reason that we are keeping our schedules open and that something bigger and more suitable for us can happen in those slots that are not filled. Lois reads her journal from the previous year and sees how events happened unexpectedly, without her planning it and discovers that there were delicious opportunities that she realized happened that might not have happened if she had filled that space ahead of time.
“You were wild once. Don’t let them tame you.”-Isadora Duncan
I am a woman who is waiting and like Helene, I want to live wild. I don’t want to be tamed. I want to be in joyful waiting. I want to live in joyful acceptance vs worry. What is the way that you want to live?
We are women waiting…..
Master Retreat Coaches on Retreat in Colorado
One of the things that was on Rob’s list was to see the Constitution. I thought to myself, sure, why not…. had never seen it. So off we went to the National Archives. As we spent time in the darkened room which holds the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution, it wasn’t until we were leaving and Rob said to me “you know, Mom, that all military members take an oath to defend the Constitution.” In that instant of time I recognized the reverence and the respect of my son. An insight into his commitment and his choice to serve……all in that moment. I got to witness a young man who is willing to lay down his life for these ideals and values laid down in our Constitution. And I found in myself a deep appreciation and gratitude for my own freedom and the pride that comes with having not one but two sons who are incredibly dedicated people. How lucky that I got to be their mom.