Resource Management Innovations

My Summer Sabbatical ...

Where have I been, and … What have I been doing?

   … the absence wasn’t intended to lapse a full calendar season, but it has. The rationale is almost all good news, with a review that will take a few entries to catch up on. We were well into spring 2011 when I realized (more whimsical than mandate) that one of the perks and privileges of being principal of my own privately held company (not having corporate officers to report to) … was that if I wanted a sabbatical, it was mine to plan, organize and (maybe the hardest part) lend permission to. It wasn’t to be a time off per se … or a seventh inning stretch, or even a time to leave the land grow fallow … but rather a time to be spent in some intentional personal assessment and development. I wasn’t so much physically tired, as I was spiritually and emotionally dry. The last many years had taken its toll, and although I wasn’t being asked ‘to go find myself’ I was aware of a growing need to top up reserves that had long since been depleted. Have you been there?

    Through the months that followed, I embarked on a rather ambitious plan that would see me spending more time being, and less time doing. Let me explain;

    There is a passage in scripture that tells the story of Mary and Martha. They were sisters, and friends of Jesus and followers of His ministry. The Book of Luke 10:38~42 reveals to us a rather prescriptive approach to ‘being vs doing’ that serves me well today. It may help you too … and the lesson goes something like this:

    Jesus has been away from His family and friends travelling, and He is now an invited guest at the home of Mary & Martha. Because there was a guest coming to dinner, Martha was distracted by “… all the preparations that had to be made” (vs. 40). During this time of preparation however, Martha’s sister Mary by contrast had been sitting with Jesus intently listening to Him (vs. 39). Martha was very task oriented. There was work to be done … and in fairness who was going to do it? Mary was very relational. She was with the dinner guest, listening very carefully to what He was saying. Possibly, a recounting of life on the road. Mary and Martha were family friends, and the thought of having Jesus over for dinner and not enjoying His company just didn’t seem appropriate at the time, for Mary. Hmm. There is an opportunity (at least) for family conflict. Sibling rivalry revealed? A dash of birth order for good measure? We just don’t know.

    During the relational time Mary is enjoying with their dinner guest, Martha confronts the guest with a rather pointed request (maybe bordering on admonishment)? She asks Jesus a very awkward question in verse 40 saying …”Lord don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

    Well that may have been a difficult moment to be sure … but I love the response of Jesus. Twice for effect He says in verse 41, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Ouch. That’s got to sting. Let’s remember it was Martha who opened her home and invited Jesus to join them for dinner. No question, there is a time for both … doing vs being, and it is in the (bringing of) balance that I think I draw my lesson. On a Mary ~ Martha continuum, it was out of diligence and an exhaustive to-do list that my relational responsibilities were being neglected. Looking to my Mentor, I went in search of some instruction for a practical application for integrating some balance into my day.

    Having lived the corporate life for 30+ years, I knew what I didn’t need. That sometimes is more than half the prescription. I knew I didn’t need to fly to L.A. or New York to sit at the feet of whatever motivational speaker in on the talk show circuit today promoting a new book. The private lives of these individuals I have found to be somewhat less inspiring.

   The venue for me would be an amalgam of Kananaskis country (which is just beyond my back door) and my porch … which happens to be through my front door. The Mary ~ Martha continuum is not lost on me in this time, and as I looked a bit deeper at the man in the mirror … I knew that emotionally I needed to be healthier. After a bit of research and a chat with a few good friends (who have an annoying tendency to tell me what I need to hear) I settled on one of the few texts that I can truthfully say has changed my life. Not just my perspective, but my behavior.

     The Text is:  Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
            Author:  Peter Scazzero
      Publisher:  Thomas Nelson
              ISBN:   978-1-59145-452-6

   I also know myself well enough to understand that when ‘the going gets tough’ … I am going to need a solid brother at my side. He proved to be the easy part. Thank you Garry. Again. Still. With his knowledge and permission ... I'll share some of our incredible journey as together we sought to bring health, healing and wholeness to our own experience.

  I spent the better part of these last few months considering the mechanics and positioning of my own Mary ~ Martha personality … to consider my ‘current vs desired state’ … define the gaps and build a bridge that would help me ‘get there from here’. I am not one to recommend or refer, as our life experience tends to be so incredibly unique and individual. If however you find this journey useful in any way, I would be blessed again. Stay ‘tuned’ … to that remarkable epic that is life, and consider if you will … where you fit vs where you would prefer to be on your own Mary ~ Martha continuum.

Blessings:

Rick @ RMI
 

Posted By: Rick Kneeshaw 2011/10/10
Categories: Reflections: Lessons Learned