Retreat Day: “What do You want me to do?”

The place God calls you to is the place where your
deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking

Many of us long to know what we should do with our lives and how we should live on a day by day basis. Those of us with a religious bent want to know what God wants. We look for meaning and purpose in our lives, to know that we are on the right path and in tune with a bigger purpose in the world.

“What do You want me to do?” is often the first question that people ask God. I don’t think this is the right place to start. We can’t know what God wants until we know God. (See this and this.)

Who are You, Lord my God, and who am I?

St Fancis of Assisi

Knowing God is inextricably connected with knowing ourselves.

As we come to know ourselves and God, we come to know our deepest desires – which are God’s deepest desires for us. Discovering all this is a lifelong exploration and journey. Maybe, in time, contemplation and action become two sides of the same coin.

Follow the grain in your own wood.

Don’t ask what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive and go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

Howard Thurman

On this retreat day, we will touch these precious places to reconnect with God, ourselves, our desires, and what we should do.

I will lead some prayer and meditative reflections. There will be times to think, reflect, and pray alone. There will be gentle, safe, and optional opportunities to talk with and listen to a few others.

I am offering this day twice: Thursday 16th or Saturday 18th September. There are 24 places each day. If you are interested in attending, please email retreat@thisbody.info (or use the Contact Page) saying whether you prefer Thursday or Saturday, or are equally happy with either day. (Please check your spam folder for my replies and whitelist this email address.)

Venue: Zoom sessions interspersed with times alone
Dates: Thursday 16th or Saturday 18th September 2021
Times: 9.45 am–5 pm BST
Cost: £30 (This is the suggested contribution. Please pay what you can reasonably afford.)

Resources for the day

Handouts

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