This
is a check-in email to remind you what that means on your calendar for next
week. Did you write “Waycross”?
or “Journey”? or “Fellowship”? or...
Well,
Janet, Courtney and I are looking forward to our retreat together.
We’ve
had a busy start to the year and this retreat is coming at a great time!
I
know you have big stuff going on too, so here is gentle reminder for you to do three
things between now and next Tuesday:
(1)
All that stuff on your to-do lists: see if you can get a lot done.
Be super-productive. You never get as much done as on the day before a
vacation or trip or retreat
(2)
Prepare your organization and staff that you will be UNAVAILABLE during
the retreat. (you will have access...but they don't have to know that)
(3)
Prepare yourself to be away
If
you have specific questions prior to the retreat, don't hesitate to email or
call.
Remember
to check your email on Monday for any last-minute instructions.
Next
week is going to be great....
Lastly,
I asked a few Journey Fellows from previous years to give you all a word of
advice or encouragement before the first retreat..their advice follows:
This will be a life changing experience.Do not allow ANYTHING to get in your way of
taking this time for yourself!Be
prepared to learn new and exciting things, especially about the person you
were, are and yet to become.What a
wonderful gift you have been given!!!!!!
Allison Millar
***********************************************
Tom, Please pass along my
wishes for them to be fully open to The Journey experience. I can remember the
anxiety I felt before the first retreat and all the questions I had. I also
remember the excitement I felt about the unknown possibilities. I just encourage
the new group of fellows to have an open mind and heart for the experience. It
was better than I expected and the worries I felt were unimportant!
Be open to new ideas, to
taking care of yourself, to change, and to listening.
Listen to the words of those
who have been there, to those who are on the journey with you, to the world
around you, and to yourself.
Take time for yourself, to
relax, to think, to be quiet, and to be in the moment.
It may happen during the
first weekend, or maybe the last, or maybe months later, but it will
happen. Once “it” happens, you will know as long as you remain open, as
long as you are listening, and as long as you remember it is all about you.
Patti Owens, Director of Programs
Foundation For Youth
Go forth with an open mind and heart, accept
everything that comes your way as gift that you didn't even know you needed.
dianna :)
dianna L.Huddleston, ACSW, LCSW
Director of the Community Living
Child and Adolescent Program
WabashValleyHospital
*************************************************
Whether you currently know
it or not, you have all been given an incredible gift--the gift of The
Journey! If you will embark upon this adventure with an open heart, your
life will be unalterably changed for the good. If I could do it over again
with all of you, I would do it in a heart beat!
Pam Clark, MSW
Consultant & Trainer
*************************************************
This time is for you and you only so take
it! Rest, get curious, talk, connect, read, have fun
and just BE. The work you do is incredibly important so tend to
your own needs and dreams during your precious renewal time so you can
come back to your role refreshed and ready to serve from an even deeper place
in your heart.
Nancy Larner Ruschman
Director of Corporate & Community Programs PeaceLearningCenter
First, another note of congratulations! Congrats for what? Well, you did manage to find time to get nominated, beat procrastination and fill out an application, and get selected for The Journey Fellowship for 2009. That's a lot.
Perhaps you're asking yourself: What have I gotten myself into with this Journey thing? (I think that's a great question to ask).
And even though I don't know the details that will be true for you (you'll be on your own Journey, so to speak)...
I can say from seven years of experience with Journey fellows...the probability is extraordinarily high that 2009 WILL BE A PHENOMENAL YEAR FOR YOU!
Here are a few explanations and suggestions about The Journey you might find helpful:
As you continue to plan and schedule for 2009, a gentle reminder to make sure that all of our retreat dates are on your calendar. You might even consider blocking out the Monday before or the Friday after each retreat as travel, work-at-home or vacation days--although sometimes those days end up being the most productive of your entire month.
Courtney Stepp, The Journey Coordinator will be emailing you to ask about some of your personal preferences. Anytime Courtney asks for anything, know that it is important for our planning purposes and our desire to have your retreat experiences be good ones.
You've already begun to receive our weekly "Connections" email. We send it most every friday to the entire Journey community.
Last week you also received an email about "reconnecting events" and the all-journey celebration retreat. It might have been confusing as it introduced you to new dates. The reconnecting events are ways that fellows from previous years are able to connect and continue to renew themselves. The all-journey retreat in October is a reunion retreat for all years. of fellows We will talk about both of these types of opportunities at our first retreat. If you are interested in attending the event mentioned in that email as taking place on the Thursday and Friday following our retreat (with Kathleen Baldwin), you are welcome register and do so!
To clear up any confusion about our retreat dates: they are the same dates listed on the form you signed indicating your would be able to attend...and they are listed at this web site in the left-hand column. February 10-12 is our first retreat.
In the interest of scaring people over the age of 25: we currently have a group on facebook for your group: The Journey Fellowship 2009 If you are already on facebook, please join. If you haven't joined facebook yet, but can see the future coming...we encourage you to join the rest of us who are learning about social networking and using facebook to stay in touch on behalf of ourselves and young people. It really is easy to join. (At our retreat, I'm sure we'll learn about other ways to network including Allied For Youth).
If you have aggressive email filters in place, please make sure that the email addresses tom, courtney and janet all @thejourneyonline.org are able to get to you.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me directly (or call me). You will be hearing from us again before our first time together in February.
On behalf of Janet and Courtney too, I hope the rest of your month is filled with meaningful work and people who love you.
