I’ve just had a lovely quiet retreat organised by the Jesuit Institute and held at The Monastery of Our Lady and St Bernard in Brownshill near Stroud part of the Diocese of Clifton for a fantastic retreat.
Set in the fantastic backdrop of the South Cotswolds The Monastery is lovely. Sr Phillipa and the nuns who follow the rule of St Benedict are very welcoming and hospitable offering a tranquil and harmonious setting, perfect for a quiet day of meditation and contemplation.
The title of the retreat was – I Am a Mission on Earth and starts with a simple question to ask yourself – Who Am I?
It’s interesting that we often describe ourselves in relation to another object or reference point. I am a father, I am a son, I am a Fitness Instructor, I am from Bristol, I am a business owner. I am the neighbour in the street sweeping up the leaves! All of these things are roles I play – but who am I?
Have you ever just sat with that question and asked yourself Who Am I?
I think at some stage we all have – and it’s a struggle to answer other than as reference to what we do! So many retired people when they give up work struggle to find purpose because they no longer identify as what they do.
Spending time in quiet stillness isn’t the removal of just sound but rather the removal of your own self and your own ego.
So, Who Am I? I am a spiritual being going thru an adventurous journey in this physical realm.
I, like everybody else have high days and low days. I have sadness and joy – I have love and I have fear. I’m tired and I’m energetic – these all offer a level of relativity to who I am and who I want to be 😊
And everyone is the same, BUT sometimes things grind us down and the little light of brilliance that exists gets dimmed and sometimes smothered!
So my mission on this Earth is to keep my spirit burning and help those who need theirs fired up or re-lit.
Today you need to know that you are a wonderful person, a brilliant person and loved just the way you are. Now take that brilliance, that wonder and that love and bring it to the forefront of your life and become the greatest, grandest, holiest and wholly best person that you can be ❤️
One step at a time. Do one thing today after reading this that celebrates who you are and spread that realisation to another.
Say “hello” to the next person you meet – a “thank you” to the person that lets you pass – A smile (but not in a weird way 😬) to someone in your work space.
Try it and see what happens.
Namaste 🙏 have a great day.
