A River Between

This weekend I stayed at St. Paul’s Monastery for my introductory Process of Human Development course at Saint Mary’s University. It was a weekend of creative juices, contemplation, and a bit of renewal. The major purpose of this course was to guide us through the process of writing our contracts and independent study courses. I definitely came away from this class having a very expanded view of what I can accomplish and study with this program.

“The lid is off,” was a phrase I remember most from the weekend. We are encouraged to develop our learning around our passions. These passions, when tapped into, can bring about great things as a contribution to the world.

I definitely have a very different and expanded view of what I would like to study and develop myself now.

St. Paul’s Monastery is beautiful. I have photos in Flickr!! We shared a retreat center overnight with a Vietnamese group who came for a silent retreat. Rooms were in a silent area of the monastery, so there was plenty of great space to read, imagine and just BE in the silence. The grounds and building are beautiful too!

The woman who staffed the front desk, Mary, told me how her father helped to build the spiral staircase of the building in the 60’s, and how whenever she looks across the room, she has that connection with her father. The sisters prepared incredibly tastey “comfort food” for all of us, and we even took time to walk the labyrinth in the back yards.

The class ended early, and it was almost disappointing to have to leave. At least our class plans to stay in touch to give each other tips, good books to read, ideas, and of course - support! Renewal is amazing!

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Originally uploaded by michaelthesecond.

Michael and I went to the “Eyes Wide Open” exhibit at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul this past Saturday. The lawn was filled with boots, each representing a U.S. soldier who has been killed in the Iraq war. This was an incredibly moving experience for me.

One of the most memorable moments at the exhibit was reading about a soldier who committed suicide after coming home. It’s not been unusual for soldiers to commit suicide, either during their stay in Iraq, or after they come back. We use these men and women up. When they come home, do they truly “come home”? My grandfather was a WWII vet, and he had flashbacks and anxiety attacks due to the war, up to the day he died. He was never at peace with this part of his past.

On Sunday, we went to a silent auction and fundraiser for Women Against Military Madness (WAMM). We bid on a bunch of things that I hope we won! A gift certificate to one of my favorite coffee shops, a voice lesson, tickets to the Lagoon Theatre, a case of rootbeer, a May Day poster, and a wine and cheese night out in St. Paul at the Black Dog Cafe. Good stuff! Wish me luck!