How Are You?

“And heed the counsel of your own heart, for no one is more faithful to you than it is.” ~ Ecclesiasticus 37:13

We’re midway through the summer, and at this point most of you have been at your internship for a significant period of time. You’ve gotten familiar with the organization, learned about the work they do –  their successes, their challenges, their aspirations. We hope that you have felt both supported and challenged thus far.

This week we wanted to take a break from delving into more intense topics and stop to reflect on how the summer has been going so far. The mid-point offers us a good opportunity to look back with pride and humility, and to look forward with intention and openness.

How are you feeling?

What have you learned so far?

What challenges have you faced?

What have been the highlights?

What has changed for you since the beginning of your internship?

  • DO: Looking Back

    Does anything strike you looking at this map with a few week’s perspective?

    How, if at all, has your relationship to your identity shifted?

    Have aspects of your identity felt empowered, lifted up and validated, or, on the other hand, in any way rejected, ignored or oppressed in your time at your internship? How have different aspects of your identity informed or shaped your experience so far?

  • DO: Looking Forward

    Go back to your spiritual practice. If you’ve been practicing regularly, GREAT! If you haven’t, that’s okay too. It can be a long process to integrate these kinds of practices into our lives. Some of us have been working on them for decades and still struggle to maintain a regular practice!

    This week, while doing your practice, hold in the back of your mind the idea of setting an intention for the rest of your internship. An intention is different than a goal. One way to think about it is like a horizon, something which guides you and shifts over time, but which one never fully reaches. Stay with this idea, and see what comes to you.

    If something comes, what is that intention? Is it clear?

  • SHARE: Discuss with Your Supervisor

    As all weeks, we encourage you to post something on FB (this week why not make it a song, a poem, a photo, an audio recording, a video?).

    We also encourage you to bring your intention to your supervisor. Discuss ways you can work going forward with that intention in mind.