Quite Contrary: Quo Vadis

I cannot put my mind and heart to rest. I am still whirling from this weekend's 2012 Sophomore Retreat.

I am elated beyond words. It was a weekend filled with stories and testimonies that inspire you to suck the marrow out of life in ways our daily routines sometimes force us to ignore. I truly can't describe the feeling that comes from the satisfaction of experiencing something beyond your greatest expectations. Especially after something you've poured your heart into with intentionality and thoughtfulness. As I process through the incredible weekend, I want to share some of the inspirations that were shared with us by all of the people who made the retreat immensely meaningful.

Quo Vadis is Latin for the phrase 'where are you going?'. It is a retreat for sophomores to take a step away from campus to talk about vocation and to think about some of the big questions in life. Questions like...

What am I living for?

What do I really want to become?

How do I live a 'good life'?

Are my actions a reflection of my values?

How do I work towards something if I don't know where I'm heading?

How much is enough?

Am I lovable?

Why is suffering so pervasive?

What is society asking of me? What is my family asking or expecting of me?

What pressures do I put on myself?

When do I feel most alive?

Will what I'm studying make a difference?

How am I complicit in patterns of injustice?

Is there a 'master plan'?

What constitutes meaningful work?

Does my job/career need to be meaningful to me?

These are only a few examples of the questions students posed this weekend. There was nothing light and fluffy about the 28-hours we spent together. It was intense. It was beautiful. The thoughtfulness filled the room just as smoke fills an enclosed room of flames. It became pervasive in the neatest way. And as the weekend went along, it became thicker and thicker, until it engulfed everyone in its beautiful fury.

The weekend was broken down into sessions and organized by themes. We talked about preparing to journey, we posed the big questions facing us individually and collectively, we explored the meaning and depth of vocation, we discussed how to be the best version of ourselves by identifying our strengths, passions and choices, we debated the phenomenon of community and how we fit into this world both on a micro- and macro-level, we talked about the importance of meaningful relationships, shared the difficulties associated with decision-making, welcomed alumni and heard about their experiences post-St. Olaf, resigned to the idea that success is difficult to define, shared ideas about how to embrace adversity and unexpected events, and affirmed the fact that this vocational discovery is a journey. A journey that perhaps does not have a destination associated with it. All in 28-hours. It was incredible.

After 28-hours of rich conversation, I find it nearly impossible to summarize in one entry. So I am not going to try. Instead, I am going to post a series of entries in the next two weeks or so, sharing some of the themes of the retreat and the incredible messages I took away from the weekend, many of which I am attempting to apply to my everyday life. I think I'll start where we started the retreat on Friday night: big questions and the philosophy of vocation.

One. Discovering and exercising our vocation is a journey. A journey that doesn't always have a destination. The 'destination' - or answers to the big questions about how to find joy and meaning in life - is actually embedded in the adventure itself. So, we must resign to the strict pattern of searching for answers and find peace in the exploration. It is within the exploration that we will not begin to answer the questions, but we begin to live out the answers. We must let go of our focus on the outcome so that we can allow ourselves to be shaped by the process. Let us not be consumed by the plans we make for our lives that we are unable to appreciate each step of the journey. Yes! Fires me up. :)

Just a few pictures from the weekend...