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The Journey Home
by Ross Barnhart

I’ve been to most of the ManREACH gatherings, and they’ve risen quickly to become a priority in my life. Nothing gives me energy and re-calibrates my life like these events, so even though the weekend of the gathering was a tough time to take off work, I managed to talk my boss into giving me the time away.

One clue that it was time for me to get away came just before I left work for the gathering. For only the second time in my life, I’d locked myself out of my office. It was a clear sign that it was time to hit the road.

That experience was amazingly symmetrical with my departure the gathering. As I prepared to leave, my late night giggle buddies (Bruce & Larry) came to my car to see me off. Though I wanted to stay, I got in the car, buckled up and prepared to leave. But, for the life of me, I couldn’t find my keys. Finally, I got out of the car and asked them if they knew where I put my keys. They laughed at me and said to check the roof of the car. Thanks guys! Otherwise I’d be at the retreat still and unemployed!

It’s often been quite stressful for me to re-enter my regular daily life after these gatherings. The stress seems to hit me in the face quickly as soon as I leave. However, with each gathering I’ve become better at taking some of the spirit of the weekend home with me and integrating it into my daily life. I’ve been home for a week now and am proud to say that the calm spirit I got from ManREACH is still with me.

What I’ve learned is how to be more intentional about how I re-join my daily life. Recently, I spent time pondering what some of those stressful triggers are. For me, here are a few that are symbolic of re-entering the “race”:

  • Turning on my cell phone and checking messages.
  • Checking my home voice mail the minute I walk in the door.
  • Checking the mail and newspapers as soon as I get home.
  • My “need” to get unpacked and settled in before anyone bothers me.

So, this time I decided specifically to avoid these behaviors. I did turn my cell phone on, but had no messages, and used it mostly to check in with loved ones at home and leave messages for some of you who were still at the gathering. Once home, I purposely did not turn on my computer or read my mail (other than trashing obvious junk mail). The newspapers didn’t arrive until the next morning, so I was safe from them. And I only unpacked what I needed for work the next day and left the rest alone. I also had a dear friend waiting for me when I got home, and although I was a bit distracted by my thoughts of the weekend, I really enjoyed the company and conversation.

Finally, I had the luxury going into work on a day that was mostly vacant of appointments. Don’t get me wrong; there was tons to do. But I could delete e-mails, return phone calls later, and instead play with being present and not stressed. I can honestly say that it was the best re-entry to work that I’ve EVER had! And I have all of you to thank for that!

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