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As Summer 2015 draws to a close, my mind has been reflecting on the journey all previous posts on this blog have taken as we’ve gone through, in brief, LDG’s Circle of Life Mentoring Model, beginning here:
In our linear world where “B” follows “A” and “2” follows “1,” where worst to best takes us up a scale, where happy to sad can take us down a notch or two, it is sometimes hard to get our well-ordered minds off of linear thinking. Just as a well-intentioned hug can be a very meaning-filled momentary circle of care, circling a perceived enemy to take them out creates another whole idea of how to use circles.
If you want to learn more than you ever thought you wanted know about circles, read through this fascinating blog…then come back to here.
Some of my favorite “circle times” have been around campfires with good friends. Important confessions and life-changing decisions have been made around the safety of those circles, by others and by me. They were, indeed, circles of life.
In the Hebrew scriptures, it is fascinating that when Moses was leading the tens of thousands of Israelites out of Egypt and toward the land promised to them (though it took several decades to get there…), they were instructed by God, when they stopped to rest for awhile, to form a circle of the Tribes of Israel. In the center of that circle, for all to see and experience was the Ark…where the essence of God dwelled with them on the journey.
This allowed these vagabonds to observe and be reminded that their God longed to be at the core, the center of their lives, whether at rest or on the move. Should you adhere to these scriptures, as I do, there is a huge illustration here of where God longs to be, not just then, but now.
Who all is in your own circle of life?
Who would you call first if tragedy or the unexpected should strike?
Who, should you be found to have done something incorrect or very wrong, would you want to surround you in a moment like that?
Who would want you in their own circle in good times and times not so good?
Who would rejoice with you, be over-the-top glad for you, if really, really good news should show up in your life?
Who are you confident, no matter what, has your back?
Who are the five people who know all there is to know about you…nothing hidden…and hold no shame over you?
Who are those people who know all of your “glory moments” and rejoice with you in those, but do not let you get carried away with any subtle arrogance?
Who has invited you into their own circle of life in response to any and/or all of these questions?
We could go on and on, but LDG’s Circle of Life Mentoring Model has been created to both honor and build relationships that go deep and last. It is meant to be a guide to men and women to live life to the fullest, no matter who they are or what they do.
Living life to the full is not done solo. Others need to be invited in. The most courageous souls I know step into those kind of relationships that do make a difference, whether one is mentoree or mentor.
Who are you for?
Who needs to be invited, intentionally, into your own circle of life?
Who is waiting for you to be a part of their circle of life?
Who is for you?
Linearly written, but expressed (in your imagination and mine…) as a circle, the best of mentoring is always intentional, moving toward deep change, involving all of a whole person, with transformation being experienced and celebrated in time. This is the hope, no matter ones age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, educational achievement, economic situation, health, etc.
Wouldn’t it be good right now to be sitting by a mountain lake up here in the Rockies, the sun has set, the stars are out by the “zillions,” we are circled around a crackling campfire…talking about life.
What would be the first question you would want me to ask you?
What would be the first question you would ask of me?
Find someone this coming weekend and do just that. Of course, you may not be in the mountains by a lake, but somewhere you can create a circle of friendship that is needed by others…invited by you. They may even ask you to mentor them for the next season of their life. We can help you do just that within Leadership Design Group.
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Hoping for moments like these soon. Thanks for writing Wes.