This time last week

This time last week, I was away. I helped run a weekend long retreat hosted by Reid Mihalko of ReidAboutSex. (Warning: that link could be considered mildly NSFW)In one of my former lives, I ran a prodigious amount of events, of widely varying scale and audience, so settling back into the headspace was old hat. But in my former life, there was always a wall up between me and the event and the attendees. {The one time I let my guard down with an attendee at one of those events, I had a profoundly moving conversation about life with one of the backers for The Bridge, but that's another story for another time.} Not so this time. I was wide open and in tune with the attendees, as well as the space.Reid did a lot of checking in with people through the weekend, "What do you need? What do you need right now?" Which allowed people to not only articulate their needs, but keep tabs on them over time, and become aware of when those needs shifted. What was needed in one moment wasn't necessarily what was needed constantly, or needed in a completely different situation. Watching a few hours of this, I started to check in with myself, "What do I need? What do I need right now?"I remembered that being present to myself, my needs, and how they shifted from moment to moment gave me a better base from which I could respond to things around me. It's an old lesson, but it's one all of us can stand to revisit on the regular.So I invite you to practice. Try asking yourself "What do I need?" from time to time. Ask "What do I need right now?" and notice as the answer shifts over time.