Hi Beth!

What I read in your posts at the start of this month is a desire for both structure and action at this time.  I see that, as the month has progressed, you have created your own assignments, similar to those that others have created for you over the last 10 months.  That’s really cool! In some ways, you are exploring how this practice might be sustainable or incorporated into your lifestyle after this project is over.

In considering that this is your penultimate month, I’m going to draw back a little to return to Dena’s request for reflection.  The rest of this month can be an opportunity to encapsulate or sum up for yourself some of the things you’ve learned throughout this entire process.  So, for the Wild Card, I’ve designed an exercise to help structure the reflection that Dena proposed.

The Wild Card:

I’d like you to make a list of the things that you have learned about yourself while going through the Living Chapters process.  It may be that you learned that you hate something that you thought you might like.  Or you may have learned meta-lessons, such as, “It’s hard for me to follow someone else’s vision.”  What have you come to understand about your nature, who you are, what is important to you, what is not important to you?  My goal is to have you walk away with a solid understanding of what this process has brought you.  I would imagine that looking at these assets, after you’ve written them down, can tell you a lot about purpose.

By the end of the month, I’m asking you to produce a solid list, not of questions moving forward, but of things you know for sure about yourself and what is important to you that you have taken from this last year.  Again, these are not universal lessons but things you know about yourself.

So here’s the wild card – to provide some structure to the worthy goal of reflection:

1. Find a time every weekday to spend at least 30 minutes on this.  Find a quiet place to do this where you can really feel yourself.  In order to explore what you’ve learned, you can either do some writing for yourself or write letters one or more of the participants in the project, reflecting on what you learned in relation to their month;
2. After some written reflection, either through personal writing or letters, create the list of things that you know about yourself and what is important to you that you’ve learned over the last year.  Find whatever form is comfortable for you for the list (e.g., phrases, paragraphs, etc…);
3. [EXTRA] If you finish this list before the end of the month, create a cohesive way to present what you’ve learned. Maybe you want to create a written statement.  Maybe you want to make a series of photographs.  Maybe you want to make a short video.  The form is up to you but it should encapsulate what you know about yourself now as you near the end of this year.  Only do this bit if you go through the rest quickly.  Follow your own pace;
4. Share the list (and the thing you make from the list) with us!

Have fun.  It has been beautiful watching this process unfold for you and I am really proud of your ability to follow the process through with such dedication and sincerity.  You have a lot of people supporting you!

With love,

Myra

5/18/2014

Just finding this blog today? Read the prologue for more details on what Living Chapters is all about. Check out the Chapter Summaries Page to get caught up to date.