“Be still, and know that I am God!"
This is my last post on my learning from the Camino. There are so many more that I could write, but we will let those show up when they are supposed to do so. This final learning was the best of all for me. I needed it, so maybe that is why it was there to be found.
Something good happens when we slow down. We see things we haven't seen before, hear things that we normally wouldn't and consider thoughts that are longer and more complex. When we rush by life and all that is around us we not only miss important things, we also fail to connect with what is most important, and those are the people around us. On the Camino de Santiago it is impossible to not find time of stillness, quiet and contemplation. Even on the days when the finish starts to look better than the journey, there is an ability to observe and converse in a way that we don't in our everyday lives. I talked. I watched. I listened. I smelled. I stopped. If we slow down, just a bit, we will find that there is way more going on around us than we realize. A pause or just a decrease of pace, for just a while, can open up new opportunities that are all around us but not obvious. Slow it down for a bit and watch what happens. The Camino teaches how good it can be.
"Be still and know that I am God" or "Hey you, slow down and try a new way". We can't speed up God so why don't we slow to His speed and see what it is like there? We don't because we either don't trust or we don't believe. Today, we are going to be challenged in our work to speed up and solve problems and create ideas and plans. But, we also have some of those in front of us that we know we aren't up to and don't have the foggiest of ideas on how we will not only solve, but even survive. This is God's territory and time that we slow ourselves down to follow Him! The way forward is always there, it is what we need to experience and know before we go that God has in His hands!
Reference: Psalm 46:10 (New Living Translation)
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Showing posts with label camino de santiago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label camino de santiago. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Thursday, July 3, 2014
day 1416: Learnings From The Camino (part 4): It Is Your Own Camino
"I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments."
This is part 4 of a 6 part series on my learning and takeaways from my Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. It just so happens that this post about the freedom of the Camino falls on the day before our American Independence Day celebration. As the Camino Pilgrims meet each other with the traditional greeting of "Buen Camino", it is also often common to hear, "It is your own Camino". What this means is that you are to walk the Camino at your own pace, not at another's pace, unless you so choose. So, you don't slow down or speed up for someone else. It is your own Camino. This becomes beneficial when you are covering 20 plus miles in a day. There is a freedom in determining and being able to choose your own pace. There are few things in life that allow us to do so and certainly in business the pace is usually determined from those at the top who have made the decision on how fast or slow the organization must move. When pace is dictated to us and then measured it becomes very personal, very fast. When we ask someone, "When do you think you can get it done?", do we accept that answer or do we then try and modify their pace by asking for it earlier? We might find that if we keep the overall goal in front of everyone that we can allow some freedom in individual pacing and for the employee this can be liberating.
David covers so many great areas within the Psalms. As he drew from his life experiences he made his words real to us. When he wrote of "walking in freedom" he likely was not only thinking metaphorically but as a former shepherd, he may have been thinking of literally how he walked. To physically walk in freedom is great but to spiritually walk in freedom is awesome. God promises us that if we devote ourselves to Him that we will experience the freedom that can only come from Him. Today, you might feel shackled by all sorts of things. It might be deadlines, or pressures, or loss, or sadness, or just frustration of too much to to get done and not enough help. Whatever those areas are that are holding you back, turn those over to Him and he will free you and let you walk forward with joy and hope.
I wish each of you a Happy Independence Day and a great long weekend of freedom!
Reference: Psalm 119:45 (New Living Translation)
NOTE: Purposed worKING will be moving from Google's Blogger to http://www.purposedworking.com/ in the next week or so. Shortly, you will be asked to receive your daily email from Feedblitz. I hope you decide to come along for a new look and improved features.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
day 1415: Learnings From The Camino (part 3): Never Refusing
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
Yesterday I wrote of how the Camino de Santiago has a way of providing what you need whether that be food, drink, shelter, conversation, etc.. But, for that to happen one must be open to receive what is being offered. A Pilgrim on the Camino is to never refuse what is being offered to them. If someone offers a drink, take it. If someone offers food, you receive it openly. If someone offers conversation, then you go with it. If someone just wants to walk next to you in silence, then you accept that also. Many stories were heard of Pilgrims as they were walking having others offer them items from their backpacks only for the receiving Pilgrim to learn that later without this item they would have not been able to proceed. The same happens with advice and guidance as those who were veterans will take the novices under their wing to be sure that they help them ensure that the Camino is the best it can be for all. It seems simple, but it is so hard because most of us don't want to open ourselves up to others for advice or guidance. We also don't want to take the risk of having others give us something because of our fear of having to return that gift, or time, back to them. So, we put our head down and passively refuse. I learned this about myself on the Camino. By the time I finished, I looked back at the opportunities that I had to hear from someone else or to walk with them for a bit, and when I didn't, as missed opportunities. The lesson: we working Pilgrims walking through our careers and lives need to stop refusing all that can be ours for help and support and be sure that no opportunity is missed.
The same can be said with our walk with our Lord. All that we need and all that we could ever want is there for us if we will only not refuse what He has to offer to us. When we seek Him in our hearts and then open our hearts to Him, our walk becomes closer and better and better. We don't know what today or tomorrow will bring but to know that when we don't refuse what God so generously is always offering to us will have us always already for what life throws at us; that is an assurance that is so awesome!
Reference: Matthew 6:33 (New Living Translation)
NOTE: Purposed worKING will be moving from Google's Blogger to http://www.purposedworking.com/ in the next week or so. Shortly, you will be asked to receive your daily email from Feedblitz. I hope you decide to come along for a new look and improved features.
Yesterday I wrote of how the Camino de Santiago has a way of providing what you need whether that be food, drink, shelter, conversation, etc.. But, for that to happen one must be open to receive what is being offered. A Pilgrim on the Camino is to never refuse what is being offered to them. If someone offers a drink, take it. If someone offers food, you receive it openly. If someone offers conversation, then you go with it. If someone just wants to walk next to you in silence, then you accept that also. Many stories were heard of Pilgrims as they were walking having others offer them items from their backpacks only for the receiving Pilgrim to learn that later without this item they would have not been able to proceed. The same happens with advice and guidance as those who were veterans will take the novices under their wing to be sure that they help them ensure that the Camino is the best it can be for all. It seems simple, but it is so hard because most of us don't want to open ourselves up to others for advice or guidance. We also don't want to take the risk of having others give us something because of our fear of having to return that gift, or time, back to them. So, we put our head down and passively refuse. I learned this about myself on the Camino. By the time I finished, I looked back at the opportunities that I had to hear from someone else or to walk with them for a bit, and when I didn't, as missed opportunities. The lesson: we working Pilgrims walking through our careers and lives need to stop refusing all that can be ours for help and support and be sure that no opportunity is missed.
The same can be said with our walk with our Lord. All that we need and all that we could ever want is there for us if we will only not refuse what He has to offer to us. When we seek Him in our hearts and then open our hearts to Him, our walk becomes closer and better and better. We don't know what today or tomorrow will bring but to know that when we don't refuse what God so generously is always offering to us will have us always already for what life throws at us; that is an assurance that is so awesome!
Reference: Matthew 6:33 (New Living Translation)
NOTE: Purposed worKING will be moving from Google's Blogger to http://www.purposedworking.com/ in the next week or so. Shortly, you will be asked to receive your daily email from Feedblitz. I hope you decide to come along for a new look and improved features.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
day 1414: Learnings From The Camino (part 2): Providing
"Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing..."
It is said that the Camino de Santiago provides its Pilgrim travelers with what is needed. I don't think this is anything supernatural that is happening but it is more that if we are open and accessible to others we will find that the human condition is very similar and that one man's offerings is another man's needs. I experienced this on the Camino more than once when I was both the provider and the recipient. When we are open to the needs of others and willing to give of ourselves, then needs are fulfilled. I walked nearly 15 miles one day with a stranger who said I was the answer to his needs. In business we are all needy and we work within environments where many times asking for help is considered a weakness. How do we get our needs met? Much of the answer lies in what the Camino has, which is reciprocity. If I am giving, then I am open to receiving. If I am open to receiving, then I can be a better giver. More reciprocity in the work place would make all of our work lives better.
In our faith we know that it is not a path, or an act, or an event that provides for us. We know that all provisions come from God. How He decides to deliver those provisions can come in many ways, and sometimes in ways that feel miraculous. And we can know that God shows up in the places where no man can provide. Today, God can provide for us in our offices, on our way to and from work, and in the struggles that we have about our career or relationships. We need to be more like the Pilgrims on the Camino and be open to our needs being provided for us. For it is when we open our eyes of faith and truly depend and believe, that God will show up for us over and over again. And, the best part is that He provides not early, nor late, but just in His divine time.
Reference: Genesis 28:20 (New Living Translation)
NOTE: Purposed worKING will be moving from Google's Blogger to http://www.purposedworking.com/ in the next week or so. Shortly, you will be asked to receive your daily email from Feedblitz. I hope you decide to come along for a new look and improved features.
It is said that the Camino de Santiago provides its Pilgrim travelers with what is needed. I don't think this is anything supernatural that is happening but it is more that if we are open and accessible to others we will find that the human condition is very similar and that one man's offerings is another man's needs. I experienced this on the Camino more than once when I was both the provider and the recipient. When we are open to the needs of others and willing to give of ourselves, then needs are fulfilled. I walked nearly 15 miles one day with a stranger who said I was the answer to his needs. In business we are all needy and we work within environments where many times asking for help is considered a weakness. How do we get our needs met? Much of the answer lies in what the Camino has, which is reciprocity. If I am giving, then I am open to receiving. If I am open to receiving, then I can be a better giver. More reciprocity in the work place would make all of our work lives better.
In our faith we know that it is not a path, or an act, or an event that provides for us. We know that all provisions come from God. How He decides to deliver those provisions can come in many ways, and sometimes in ways that feel miraculous. And we can know that God shows up in the places where no man can provide. Today, God can provide for us in our offices, on our way to and from work, and in the struggles that we have about our career or relationships. We need to be more like the Pilgrims on the Camino and be open to our needs being provided for us. For it is when we open our eyes of faith and truly depend and believe, that God will show up for us over and over again. And, the best part is that He provides not early, nor late, but just in His divine time.
Reference: Genesis 28:20 (New Living Translation)
NOTE: Purposed worKING will be moving from Google's Blogger to http://www.purposedworking.com/ in the next week or so. Shortly, you will be asked to receive your daily email from Feedblitz. I hope you decide to come along for a new look and improved features.
Monday, June 30, 2014
day 1413: Learnings From The Camino (part 1): A Very Long Walk
"Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
The first thing you need to know about the Camino de Santiago is that it is a very long walk. Depending upon where you start, it can be as long as you want it to be. Here is the map of Europe that shows all the different ways one can walk (or bike) all to Santiago, Spain:
My Camino journey was just at 100 miles. For other pilgrims I met on the Camino their walk was eight times and plus that distance. When we decide to do anything that is going to be long and arduous, it takes commitment and a reason. When we think about delivering on an organizational strategy it means that it won't happen overnight and that many people will have to be committed for a long walk. A learning from the Camino is that if we allow each person to understand why they individually will want to sign up for the long walk, that there is real power in the "What's in it for me" mentality. While we don't want to set up activities and purposes that revolve just around the "me" in us, it is very much in that place where if we are honest, we can understand and express our "why". And knowing our "why" is a powerful motivator.
Our walk with God is as long as He determines it will be, which we don't know the length until the end. But, we can make that walk in assurance because of where we know we are going. There is no greater "why" than this! Today, we start a continuation of that walk and will see arrows and signs pushing and pulling us in many directions. If we keep our eyes on Christ, then the path we are walking, the words that we speak, the actions that we take will be moving us in the right direction in our walk with Him.
Reference: Genesis 13:17 (New Living Translation)
NOTE: Purposed worKING will be moving from Google's Blogger to http://www.purposedworking.com/ in the next week or so. Shortly, you will be asked to receive your daily email from Feedblitz. I hope you decide to come along for a new look and improved features.
The first thing you need to know about the Camino de Santiago is that it is a very long walk. Depending upon where you start, it can be as long as you want it to be. Here is the map of Europe that shows all the different ways one can walk (or bike) all to Santiago, Spain:
My Camino journey was just at 100 miles. For other pilgrims I met on the Camino their walk was eight times and plus that distance. When we decide to do anything that is going to be long and arduous, it takes commitment and a reason. When we think about delivering on an organizational strategy it means that it won't happen overnight and that many people will have to be committed for a long walk. A learning from the Camino is that if we allow each person to understand why they individually will want to sign up for the long walk, that there is real power in the "What's in it for me" mentality. While we don't want to set up activities and purposes that revolve just around the "me" in us, it is very much in that place where if we are honest, we can understand and express our "why". And knowing our "why" is a powerful motivator.
Our walk with God is as long as He determines it will be, which we don't know the length until the end. But, we can make that walk in assurance because of where we know we are going. There is no greater "why" than this! Today, we start a continuation of that walk and will see arrows and signs pushing and pulling us in many directions. If we keep our eyes on Christ, then the path we are walking, the words that we speak, the actions that we take will be moving us in the right direction in our walk with Him.
Reference: Genesis 13:17 (New Living Translation)
NOTE: Purposed worKING will be moving from Google's Blogger to http://www.purposedworking.com/ in the next week or so. Shortly, you will be asked to receive your daily email from Feedblitz. I hope you decide to come along for a new look and improved features.
Friday, June 27, 2014
day 1412: A Huge Thank You
"...rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
For our faithful readers, you know that I asked a number of friends to contribute to Purposed worKING while I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The response was so great that the post contributions were more than the days I was gone, but that just added to my extended pilgrimage time, to which I am very grateful. Now I am back and want to say thank you to all of our guest contributors. It was special to me to see working professionals step forward and share their faith and how they bring glory to God in their jobs and lives. We don't say thank you enough in the workplace, but imagine if we did? What if we thanked the security guard for keeping us safe? What if we thanked the cafeteria worker for keeping the tables so clean? What if we thanked the tax guys for being so diligent in their calculations? How hard is it to thank someone? It's not, but still we don't do it. Consider the power of a thank you and try wielding some of that power today as aggressively as you like!
We are taught to be thankful for all that we have, since none of it came from us and none of it is ours. I am thankful for those who allowed me to travel on the Camino (good for the body, mind and soul, which I will detail out in next week's Purposed worKINGS), including my wife Patti who gave me the time and space to travel and be away from home and out of touch. With a spirit of thankfulness our days will start better and those around us will recognize our "up" attitude. It is hard to be a complainer and be thankful at the same time. Thankfulness trumps many other negatives, so if we just start today with a thank you to those who we never say thank you, it will be a better day for all!
Reference: Colossians 2:7 (New Living Testament)
NOTE: Purposed worKING will be moving from Google's Blogger to http://www.purposedworking.com/ in the next week or so. Shortly, you will be asked to receive your daily email from Feedblitz. I hope you decide to come along for a new look and improved features.
For our faithful readers, you know that I asked a number of friends to contribute to Purposed worKING while I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The response was so great that the post contributions were more than the days I was gone, but that just added to my extended pilgrimage time, to which I am very grateful. Now I am back and want to say thank you to all of our guest contributors. It was special to me to see working professionals step forward and share their faith and how they bring glory to God in their jobs and lives. We don't say thank you enough in the workplace, but imagine if we did? What if we thanked the security guard for keeping us safe? What if we thanked the cafeteria worker for keeping the tables so clean? What if we thanked the tax guys for being so diligent in their calculations? How hard is it to thank someone? It's not, but still we don't do it. Consider the power of a thank you and try wielding some of that power today as aggressively as you like!
We are taught to be thankful for all that we have, since none of it came from us and none of it is ours. I am thankful for those who allowed me to travel on the Camino (good for the body, mind and soul, which I will detail out in next week's Purposed worKINGS), including my wife Patti who gave me the time and space to travel and be away from home and out of touch. With a spirit of thankfulness our days will start better and those around us will recognize our "up" attitude. It is hard to be a complainer and be thankful at the same time. Thankfulness trumps many other negatives, so if we just start today with a thank you to those who we never say thank you, it will be a better day for all!
Reference: Colossians 2:7 (New Living Testament)
NOTE: Purposed worKING will be moving from Google's Blogger to http://www.purposedworking.com/ in the next week or so. Shortly, you will be asked to receive your daily email from Feedblitz. I hope you decide to come along for a new look and improved features.
Friday, May 23, 2014
day 1388: Summer Thanks!
"Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins."
Today is a special day. All across the country, companies and employees are getting ready for the long weekend that signals the start of summer! Memorial Day weekend gets it all started. Some companies will start their summer hours and gear up for people taking their vacation weeks. It's always exciting. This holiday is about paying memory to those who have served and fallen for our country. Between getting ready for the fun weekend and the memorials it can be a great time to express to each other how much we appreciate them and their contributions that assist in our success. It's a great time for leaders and managers to express their recognition to their teams and co-workers.
Today also marks a day for me to say thank you to many. On Monday, I leave on a special trip. My friend Doug, who recently turned 50 invited me and a group of guys to join him on a pilgrimage trip in Spain. We will be walking daily (with our backpacks) along the Camino de Santiago. This is a tradition for nearly a million people who have been doing it for a 1000 years. While on this long trip, one is supposed to figure out what they will be "leaving behind". I will share what that is when I return. While I am gone, purposed worKING will continue. I have asked a number of the most courageous and committed followers of Christ who are daily living out their purpose in their workplaces, to write and share for all of us. I have been overwhelmed with their generosity of spirit and time. I know you will be blessed by their writings. And, after this series of guest contributors ends, be on the watch out for a new look and expansion of Purposed worKING.
Enjoy this Friday summer kickoff and long weekend! Be blessed and stay strong in His promises!
Reference: 1 Peter 4:8 (New Living Translation)
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