Practice, Practice, Practice…

First things first – yes, we do have an in-person gathering this weekend. The reason this might come as a surprise is that we don’t customarily gather on the summer long weekends. Does that mean the Labor Day long weekend isn’t part of summer? (GASP!) Well, officially the end of summer in this hemisphere would be September 22nd, so we’ve got a ways to go. However, in the interest of setting the tone and rhythm for September, we’re going to get together. If this weekend is your last dash to the cottage or some seasonal equivalent, think fondly of us as we meet at VA Cafe at 10:45 am. We will livestream the gathering here.

Regarding the subject line – as we’ve been exploring some ideas around solitude and equanimity, we’ve kept on running into the word “practice”. That’s because (at the risk of saying something terribly obvious) exploring our thoughts about something isn’t the same as doing it. Doing it (the actual skills that open into the experience and the benefits), takes…practice. Not nearly as shiny as the idea, perhaps, but oh-so-necessary.

So…this Sunday we’re going to practice mindful listening. As a group. It’ll be fun. 🙂  And just in case you are wondering what this has to do with exploring what we believe, if you’ve ever wondered about what is practically required to actually love someone who isn’t like you, for example, this is about that. Most of us thrive when we feel fully “heard” and “seen”. It’s one of the ways we feel loved. And mindful listening is a skill that can help us offer that to others.  But it takes some (you guessed it!) practice.

Now, if you’ve gotten this far, let me offer a bit of a teaser about the rest of September. We’ve got some pretty interesting things coming up, including the opportunity to go see an entertaining and challenging piece of theatre/dance and have an in-person conversation with one of the writer/actors, as well as welcoming a musical guest from far-away B.C. who is a part of our community but whom most of you have never met. More about all of that on Sunday with additional details on Facebook and in the blurb next week.

In the meantime, I’ll see you on Sunday.
Peace,