“… It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.”
– Oriah Mountain Dreamer
Words by Darius Matthies | Pictures by Veerle Kaffka, participants YIP 7
What is the impulse behind our actions? What is the core, the place our words and actions are coming from? One thing I realized about YIP is that most of the things we are learning here are not at all tangible from the outside. There is no tool-box of skills and theories that we can visibly show people when they ask us: “Well, the program sounds interesting but what have you actually gained at YIP?” Maybe we can’t give them what they expect yet but what we can give them is a feeling, a truth in our smile that might be more powerful than any set of tools.
YIP for me is not intentionally focussed on gaining outer skills; YIP is about exploring a place in the inside, a source that nourishes us from within ourselves. YIP is a place where knowledge becomes wisdom. It helps me to embody ideals and dreams and reminds me of the beauty of our inner landscapes, discovering hidden shadows and wounds and invisible gifts and potentials. The society I grew up in is so dominantly focussed on fixing or changing the outer world around us that there is not much support or appreciation for this intangible inner gifts that we carry. We forget that the place that sustains and nourishes us when everything around us falls apart is within ourselves. We forget the wisdom of inner truth, the connection to a more beautiful world that we hold within us. The time at YIP is for me such an important reminder of how incredibly rich the outer world becomes when I act out of this inner place of truth and service.
Being honest I still have no clue what to do in my life. But I am finding a place in myself that gives me the trust in my wisdom and often enlightens me the path by reminding me that no matter what I’ll do that I know how I want to do it and how I want to be.
At Initiative Forum, the second day is devoted to The Inner, discovering these hidden gems and shadows that are alive in us. For example, we will have a moment of silence during the day to enable everybody to go there in order to have an inner exploration that will make Initiative Forum 2015 a rich and honest experience!