What Did I Learn?

My coach said, "I've worked with you for nearly ten years. You were very different when we started. You took on the Home of the Future project to learn something. What is it? What was so important? What did doing this teach you?"

In the space of two heartbeats, I recalled who I'd been, who I became as I tried so hard to fit into the life I'd arranged up until then; I recalled the changes wrought in me through yoga and meditation, through my permaculture class, through buying and living in this home in this cohousing community; I recalled what I'd put my family through, the sacrifices they made and continue to make; I recalled the gifts of the Spirit and companionship that have been bestowed upon me; I recalled the various housemates and meetings and challenges and celebrations and conversations and healings I witnessed and participated in; I recalled the children I'd played with, the women I'd loved, the men who befriended me...

A lump rose in my throat.

"I learned that I'm 'Dad.' Not some autocratic figure, but 'Abba;' nurturer, holder of space, appreciator of what is and what is becoming; teacher, student, facilitator; the bringer of something to the planet that didn't exist until I called it into being with the help and inspiration of those people around me."

"That's huge," she said.