12: Lunch With Myself

My Lunch Space

For me, the time I spend with my lunch dates is a mini-vacation from the hustle and bustle of my work day. Our time is precious and the variety of conversations and connections are beautiful. Truthfully, I carefully select who I engage with, because for me, my lunch is a sacred space. Though, this isn't how it used to be. I remember sitting silently in my cubicle, hoping one day someone would ask me to go to lunch and say, "I'd like to get to know her better."

So I waited for a few years for my lunch life (and really my life) to begin, silently frustrated. And though I don't remember who my first intentional lunch date was, I started putting myself out there. Rather than waiting for someone to create what I wanted, I began creating it. I spent time noticing who I wanted to get to know, discovering the more I open became, the more beautiful friends I made.

Then, about 4 years ago I began brushing up against my comfort zone and honored my need to take it slow. My work world supports quarterly planning, so it seemed appropriate that my personal world could mirror this also. So I created Plan 1: ask one new person to lunch a quarter. At first it was like asking someone out on a date and even to this day when I ask someone new to lunch, I get a belly full of butterflies.

A year in I reflected on my plan. Months had became a new focus for me when I started setting my monthly intentions in September of 2011 and to honor this I created Plan 2: ask one new person to lunch a month AND schedule regular lunch dates.

Today

I still find joy in asking a new person to lunch and have discovered some amazing new friendships. And the recurring dates allow my lunch mate and I to connect, intentionally, at least once a month. With both of these, one can imagine, my lunch dating life is quite full. There is rarely a day that I don't have something scheduled and even when I ask a new person to lunch, it usually means finding something a few weeks out.

So today, I thought I'd try something different. I had lunch with myself, just to see if the same attention, compassion and love I cherish with my lunch dates, can be created for myself. I wrote this blog and recognized the depth at which my journey is leading me and how far I've come. And as I prepare for my upcoming 100 Days of Nourishment (beginning February 25), I find myself in a cycle of acknowledgement, standing still and release.

There are pieces sifting through my life and though part of me wants to blog about them, the other part wants to hold them even tighter. Needless to say, I'm exploring this on a deeper level and though it isn't written here, in words, it's presence in my life exists. And what I ask and hope for, is that as I navigate through this phase, that you, my supporters and friends, can allow me to do this in the most honoring way I can. Though most importantly, is that I honor when it feels right for me, I will allow the words to pour from my heart in a loving and healing way.

**And to think, all of that came from making a lunch date with myself! My reflection on lunch, is how important it is for me to connect with myself. Being wise, a plannned lunch date with myself is a good idea.

With Love, Jan