Last weekend….. we spent three days in the fabulous
city of Den Hague, Holland. Three days
spent with approximately 200 open-hearted individuals from 29 different
countries who appreciate and are skilled in juggling life, languages and liminal
living around the globe and are connected by this multi-cultural community
called Families In Global Transition.
Three days….. of stimulating conversations delivered
by 60 different presenters each with something inspiring and useful to offer
the tribe. The program was laced with
stories that spoke to a wide variety of subjects all designed to encourage and
support us in finding our real tribe – yes, you know the one, that person that
you connect with at such a wonderful heart level that you completely bypass the
superficial stories and go deep, go intentional and create something beautiful
together.
One global heart….. always seems to blossom in the
presence of fellow journeyers on the international path. I felt like all the boxes were checked, my
TCK-self, global soul-self, expat-self, trailing-spouse self, empty-nester
self, TCK-mum-self, expat-mum-self and expat/repat-coach-self were all welcomed
and all fed. Experts in coaching, teaching, transitions and international
living formed a meaningful tribe for a few brief days to have a lasting
impression.
Fifty-two brilliant ideas….. I left with a list of
52! Yes, that’s correct 52 comments or
subjects to consider, ponder and think about in future. Several comments made my heart pause, mind
pay rapt attention and immediately invited me to consider the application. Here’s
a short list of subjects that I am taking home to develop.
a)
“was my previous identity
invalid?”,
b)
“to bury your past or raise it up to scrutiny?”
c)
“comfortable between worlds”,
d)
“the kaleidoscope of life”,
e)
“understand your aching
heart”,
f)
“lean in to lean out of your comfort zone”,
g)
“we adapt everywhere – we belong nowhere”,
h)
“TCKs have more loss than most adults will
experience in a lifetime”.
“Inspiration without action is merely entertainment”
….. there were so many ah ha moments at FIGT.
Hugs were frequent and life was somehow made welcome in a way that we
don’t always find on a day to day basis. It’s now our responsibility to share this
liminal living with the world, to do our best to knit our tribes together with
joy and thanksgiving. Thanks to everyone
who came, who participated and delivered your brilliance, too many to list here….
know that you made a difference just by showing up. The question we need to ask ourselves is “how
do we create a sunnier life that shines upon everyone we connect with?” What in fact are we carrying home and how
will we apply it?
The journey home…..finds me back in Scotland, one of
my passport countries, my natal-soul-satisfying-land and a place I need to live
in for a few weeks every single year in order to create “balance”. I have been tending to my 95 year old Dad,
and tomorrow I leave for Dublin to visit my ATCK daughter who first flew at
exactly three weeks old. The international
family beat goes on, mixed with aviation fuel, logistics and vision.
Where will FIGT 2017 take us? The mission is to move on, to leave
Holland behind yet carry the lessons, questions and feelings within us. Each of us has a task to amplify the
learnings, create our next adventure and serve the global tribe. There will be gold nuggets that arise to the
surface for each of us, and I look forward to seeing what we come up with.
I am grateful for FIGT 2017 and everyone who participated. I
have discovered that coaching expats and repatriating expats fills my heart
with joy. I am grateful for having
purpose, for a new adventure in living and so many beautiful people to share
this passion with. I.Love.My.International.Life
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