As I reflect back on the time spent with noble friends at the annual ServiceSpace Retreat in Bolinas a couple of weeks ago, my heart and mind are filled and overflowing...  with awe at the beauty in so many small moments that collectively planted seeds in our hearts as the retreat unfolded; with boundless joy that radiated from everyone's whole-hearted presence and smiles as they reflected, shared, laughed, cried, hugged and held space together for emergence over the course of those four days; and with a deep sense of humility and gratitude for the infinite ways that this ecosystem has nourished and inspired my journey for over 17 years and now rippling into that of my family's, especially my two young daughters. 

It's hard for me to imagine that it's been 11 years since I left the Bay Area, where ServiceSpace was an everyday, every moment part of my life, to move to London, where for the first few years, my connectivity with the ecosystem was limited to virtual interaction or the occasional marathon conference calls when we needed to plan or brainstorm together. :)  When I flew back to the US for ServiceSpace retreats during the first few years, the entire experience filled a hole in my heart that longed for the wholesome, deeply nourishing, and super inspiring in-person interaction that I was missing in London.  The 3-4 days together filled my inspiration tank and sustained my virtual engagement for several months until the next retreat came around :) 

Now, 11 years on, it's a blessing to be part of these annual retreats and a really precious gift to be able to carry the ripples back home with me, so that they may inspire other journeys for people who are part of the growing ServiceSpace community here in London.  For the past few years, I have come back from the retreats overflowing with inspiration to deepen my own intention to serve unconditionally and feeling pumped-up and bursting with ideas to keep the ripples rippling.

Seeds which were planted at the retreat (and even before, because as we know, the ripple never started with us) :) have slowly begun to sprout here in London with a few different experiments planned in coming weeks and months to nurture the ripples.  Last week, inspired by the natureful surroundings at the retreat, our family decided to spend Sunday in Epping Forest going on a nature walk to awaken and realign with our own true nature before embarking on the start of another new school year, especially for our young daughters.  Our 5-year-old, Sareena, was really pumped up to do some Smile Card acts all weekend, so we found a fun way to sneak in some acts of kindness and leave anonymous inspiring messages along the trail :)

I'm guessing you won't be surprised at all to hear that it was a really profound experience.  In the hours and days that followed, Deep and I noticed how our daughters tuned in and listened more mindfully and how they became more empathetic, compassionate, generous and loving in lots of little ways.  We knew in our hearts that it wasn't a coincidence that following our time in the forest the girls were being more helpful to us and each other, sharing more effortlessly without any reminders, listening more deeply when we were all talking at a circle over dinner that evening about what we learned from our experience, and going out of their way to send a little more love out into the world.  Their actions came straight from their hearts when they were able to connect with their own true nature.  It's a space that's quite familiar to me when I am together with noble friends in this ecosystem, who inspire me to remember who I am.  In a couple of weeks, a few of us from the local Awakin circles are going to pilot an Awakin-style Nature Walk in a similar spirit, to align more deeply with values that are alive and ever-present in nature and Anil and Nisha, who are laddering the group, hope to make it a monthly feature.

In the next couple of months, following our first in-person circle in London, we are planning to experiment with hosting a Virtual Mindful Parenting Circle to enable parents from around the world to learn from and be inspired by each other's parenting journeys.  At some point in the coming year, we are planning a rebrand of the Cubs Newsletter together with a 21-day challenge on the theme of raising kind, compassionate, empathetic and mindful kids.  We would also love to explore including more inspiration shared by parents in our very own ecosystem, like Ari's story about how his son's quiet protest led to his entire class pledging allegiance to the earth every morning!

I am deeply grateful, as always, for the untiring way in which so many of you and this ecosystem more broadly supports my journey every single day, in every moment.  I hope to pay forward my gratitude ten-fold as I continue to walk on the path of service, alongside noble friends near and far.

This video montage below of the recent Leading with the Labor of Love themed retreat (made with photos and audio lovingly shared by many :)) is offered with hopes that it inspires all of us to carry the ripples home with us in our hearts to pay forward the love to others.  As we know, the ripple never started with us, and with noble friends walking and serving together, we can be sure it won't end with us...

[Hit full screen icon in the bottom right for best viewing experience. :)]



[Few other posts from our retreat that you might enjoy: Bowing in the Line of Grace (community night stories), Compassion as a Service (Sairam's journey), The ServiceSpace Effect (Shiv's hilarious stories), There but for Grace (Mia's poem), Turning the Wheel of Kindness (Melissa's journey), Hem of the Infinite and A Deeper Yes (Bonnie's anecdote from one morning)]