The Hendricks County Connection

Hello Community, I'm wondering when you last dialogued with your life. Have you stepped away from a typical day lately, paused, asked the questions that are important to you and then listened for the answers? Below is a story of an intentional journey I took on Sunday. I set out to discover from nature and silence what I wasn't able to see in my everyday life. As you read this story, I invite you to consider the power of taking the time. I was walking through a sacred place - a family cemetary with mid-1800 stones deep in the woods. The Earth was alive with birthing and the Sun was just starting to set and magic was everywhere. There were wildflowers and ivy and what my friend, David, called 'Ivory' that I had never seen before - radiant purples and whites and greens that I imagined were ancient. It was as if we had stepped into another world. The land was untouched - it seemed as if humans hadn't walked there in a very long time. I was revisiting a beautiful haven that I had tasted briefly last March and had longed to return to. The last time we took this trip it was difficult because of the wild nature of the land and yet I wanted to go back. David suggested that I drive and I was impressed and intimidated by the power of his new farm truck and the terrain. I also liked the challenge. He sat back and let me find my way with the simple directions to stay close to the tree line and to take it easy. He knows that I have a tendency to go full force so the reminder was appreciated. I watched my thoughts as I encountered obstacles like the ditch we nearly got stuck in last year. I eased up to it and looked out over the huge hood of the truck sizing up the situation. I looked over at him and he said 'Go ahead if you want. Pull right up to the edge, drop down into it and let the truck pull you out on the other side.' I like freedom and I liked the fact that I had a choice even though I knew he had just washed his truck. Part of me wanted to go for it - to see the mud that I knew that ditch could throw. Then I reminded myself of what this trip was about. I was searching for that fairyland deep in the woods and I tried to resist the distraction. I checked out my options. There was a wide open field to my left that was bumpy to be sure but clearly the path of least resistance. Sometimes I think we choose the difficult road because it is what we know or what we believe life wants to give us. I love to get mud on the tires but I chose the field - breaking a pattern of wildness - at least for a moment. We continued and the journey consisted of more smooth and then bumpy farm fields, deep ravines and scenic ponds and places where the water stands. We were able to drive part of the way in the comfort and strength of the capable vehicle and then we walked. There were steep hills and we struggled and nearly fell. Other times we were joyful as we ran and jumped over small creeks among laughing trees. We arrived at the sacred destination and walked among the stone markers, righting some that had fallen over and kneeling in front of others as we tried to read the vanishing words of a life once lived. We sat silently and listened to nature and noticed how the frogs make up their own songs. A Blue Heron took flight and two deer stood in the woods watching. We contemplated whether or not to take some of the ancient loveliness with us and decided to transplant some of the beauty of the plants in our yards as a symbol of what we most desire. We gathered them with gratitude. When we were walking back, David discovered an alternate route that was much simpler. Something told me he knew it was there earlier. Then he took the wheel and I watched the sun setting as he drove us back home. My life and my rhythm have slowed drastically in the ten years that I have known him but he still moves and drives much slower than me. Taking our time made the drive back much easier. It reminded me that the path is smoother when I pace myself and life is better when I take in all of my surroundings. When we see the big picture of our lives, we are able to see the paths of least resistance more readily. I'm trusting that if my story talked to you that you discovered the messages as they were meant to be for your life. My hope is that you are making the time to hear the wisdom of life and that your desires are sprouting this Spring. I want you to know that I take an image of this community with me everywhere I go and I hold your intentions in my heart - even those that have gone unspoken. I'm doing my best to pay attention - to see the beauty and the aliveness of the world we live in and to share that with each of you. As always, I welcome your comments and learnings. Sweet Journeys, -Dane
Core Coaching and Training
CoreCoachingandTraining.com
317-745-7778 office
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*'Copyright 2005 Reprinted with permission from Dane McCullough

Last week at church I shared how the kids were frolicking through the woods enjoying each others company and the beautiful fall day. This week I shared about how my son bopped his sister on the head and was grounded.

Well, we are reading The Polar Express, the chapter book, and then will go see the movie so the kids can see the difference in what they pictured in their heads and the movie version. So, anyway, last night I was reading to them and came upon a part where the elves at the North Pole received an urgent fax just before midnight on Christmas Eve. It said, "NAUGHTY ALERT!" , well, it was the perfect opportunity I couldn't pass up.

I filled in my son's name as the boy who was naughty and filled in his offense to his sister and his town of Avon! At each revelation, my son looked up and audibly gasped! Eyes wide in amazement! He couldn't believe what he was hearing! They were both trying to get me to tell them if the book really said that for real. I couldn't help but laugh so hard I cried. They assumed I was joking, my daughter thought it was funny, my son didn't.

Experience, priceless! The elves did decide my son should go ahead and receive his Christmas presents! -Amy H. Avon, In.

Memories from the 40’s, dad saying
Judie, grab the other end of this couch,
We haul it to the basement
to be reupholstered
And then haul it back upstairs
Where has all the energy gone.

My brother too busy with “projects”
Wasn’t into hero worship like me,
Hold up my end of the bargain,
Be the helper,
No matter the strain.
Where has all the energy gone.

Before backpacks, in the 50’s
We carried piles of books in our arms
Struggling under the weight
Trudging down Silverbrook Road
That half mile to Lorton School
Hoping none slipped to the ground
Where has all the energy gone.

Can you believe, I once water skied
from Alexandria to Occoquan
pulled by a powerful boat
Twenty miles, just for fun
Legs like rubber when they touched
solid ground, once again.
Where has all the energy gone.

In the 60’s, two babies in 14 months
Carried on my right hip,
One at a time of course
A ten month old weighed 30 pounds
and still weighed that when he was six
It was a breeze lugging him around
Where has all the energy gone.

Washington Square on the phonograph
of the Mishawaka YMCA in the 60's
Set the tone for swimming a mile a day
My long hair never drying out
from day to day.
A 100 mile certificate awarded
Where has all the energy gone.

Spend two weeks in the Boundary Waters
portaging a canoe and listening for bears
Keep a chrome whistle around my neck
Hearing loons and catching pike
Make the best pizza ever from scratch
and bake it in a reflector oven on the beach -
Whittling around a campfire in the rain
miserable conditions but wonderful time
Where has all the energy gone

Live in a tree house with 14 steps to the street
How many bags of groceries and birdseed,
lawnmowers, furniture, and heavy “stuff”
Lugged up and down those stairs, up and down
those stairs for ten years in the 70's
Never giving it a though
I am invincible
Where has all the energy gone.

Give birth to a new idea in the 80's
Clean up 320 miles of beach in three hours
Find 26.7 tons of marine debris
Attract 2100 volunteers
Be interviewed for radio and TV and print news
Hold down my “regular” job
Keep that project going for five years
Where has all the energy gone.

Weed the garden, mow the grass, plant the seeds,
trim the trees and watch the herbs and flowers
flourish in the hot sun in the 90's
Work from sun up til sun down and beyond
Lugging leaves and dirt and sand and bricks and
tree limbs, cleaning up the place, year after year.
Where has all the energy gone.

A new century dawns -
Then comes the news - your heart is not good,
no heavy lifting, no exertion, take it easy,
take a stress test, take an EKG, take a baby
aspirin a day, take a beta blocker.
Get that blood pressure to 130/80 or better
Come back in six months.
Where has all the energy gone.

So now it seems I sleep all day, trying to be good.
Not lifting heavy boxes or shoveling snow
Reading books, watching TV, and riding a bicycle
that goes nowhere but the living room carpet
It would be better to push it to the limit
Be doing something fun
And be found, unconscious, in the woods.
Let the energy go.

Inspiration