From March 10th through
12th, I attended a men's weekend retreat, and the experience was enlightening.
First, although I packed before this trip, I forgot one big thing. I packed my clothes, my undergarment, pants, and pajamas. I packed soap, a towel, and items to dress the bed, but I forgot one thing: the mask connected to the CPAP. Oh, I got the CPAP, but not the mask.
When I realized this, I called my wife, and I just wanted to vent; there was nothing she could do. Then I told my brother since he had gone to the weekend retreat with me, but again there was nothing he could do; I was just venting. Honestly, I was concerned because I thought this would hurt my sleep. After feeling like I had messed up, I had no choice but to move on.
While I did go to bed 30 minutes past my bedtime on night one of the men's retreat, I was still able to wake up at 6:28, and even more excitingly, I woke up refreshed! The habit has paid off, and I realized I wasn't giving myself enough credit, but rather, I was attributing my sleeping primarily to the CPAP. Indeed, habits are powerful. Interestingly enough, I woke up before the alarm, so, no CPAP and no alarm, just habit.
Secondly, the conversations had with the men on the weekend retreat were powerful, and I enjoyed seeing their eyes light up when I explained something or provided insight or information. You could see that they got it and that it made sense that they had this aha moment. Truly, I desire to do the same for more people. I wasn't the host of this event, but I did have a space to speak, serve, impact, and share, and it was remarkable, especially to the degree that I could do it and see the outcome.
The weekend strengthened my desire to serve, not that it needed strengthening, but seeing firsthand the effect the message can have only furthered my desire to get better at sharing the message.
Gratitude - that's what I felt.
While initially, I debated attending, I wasn't even considering that I’d be asked to be a keynote speaker. I wasn't even going to be speaking at this weekend retreat; it was a last-minute invitation to speak. Nevertheless, when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it. I talked about the relational aspect of the ten life domains.
One moment that impacted my life was after I gave this talk, how men opened up about their relationships that they weren't going so heavily on or being invested in. One particular moment that impacted me was when a gentleman asked his friend to forgive him. He realized he wasn't the best friend possible, and thus, with tears in his eyes, he requested forgiveness.
Another gentleman, having taken a moment to meditate on the conversations, declared that it had taken 55 years for him to understand his purpose. While he did not go in-depth or provide further context, he was undoubtedly choked up by the moment and what was taking place.
Seeing all this further strengthened my desire to serve at a high level. And while initially, I was not invited to speak, saying yes was a blessing.
When unpacking, I was timid about the results of my sleep or how it would be affected; considering I didn't take the CPAP, to my surprise, my sleep was not affected. This doesn't mean I stopped using the CPAP when I returned home, but it does mean that habits matter. I started going to bed early and waking up early before I got the CPAP, so adding the CPAP to that has been helpful, but the habit was already forming.
It's essential to seize the moment and say yes to opportunities even when you are unsure of the outcome, for any opportunity to serve is an opportunity not only to impact others but also to utilize your gifts and talents.