Arriving
10.15am, Saturday morning, I find myself sitting in the ‘big salon’ in De Heerlijckyt van Elsmeren. Judy and I got Lisa from the station in Leuven this morning and they both are settling in their rooms right now. I will sleep in my own bed every night, because I live nearby.
Everything is quiet here inside the building, only one woman is preparing and cleaning the space for us. She just served fresh coffee and tea. Outside is a real rain storm going on, like the weather can be here in March. I see the rain drops passing by in almost horizontal position, that’s how strong the wind is. It even pushes the water underneath the windows, new and old alike.
I feel blessed to be here in this nice, inviting environment. And I feel blessed to receive today the other women that will join in our gathering. I feel quiet and still inside, not any nervousness that is normally there when doing something new. Although this is the first time that I really can’t sense what is going to happen. Many times, even when others are feeling they are on the edge of not-knowing, I have a sense where it should go or where we will end up. Not now. Exciting, vibrant feeling. I feel like a child who knows that something pleasant will happen! I guess this is Life; and more than that: being at home in Life as it unfolds.
I want to give one more quote from the book Artful Leadership by Michael Jones; it is from Robert Frost and it speaks about this feeling:
“Home is the place, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”