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Reader, When my kids were younger, one of their favorite games was hide and seek. I was always "it," which meant I had to close my eyes and count as loudly as I could. Meanwhile, they scurried off to hide somewhere in the house, doing their best to stifle their eager giggles. But there was a problem: my kids had trouble grasping the concept of this game. As soon as I called out, "Ready or not, here I come!" they immediately sprinted from their hiding places, yelling at the top of their lungs. "Here were are, Daddy! Here we are!" I tried to correct them with gentle explanations. "In this game," I said, "I count and you hide. Once I'm finished counting, you have to stay hidden while I look for you. If I can't find you, then you win. But if I do find you, then I win. Is that clear?" And yet, when we tried round 2, the same thing happened again. I couldn't even finish my "ready or not" announcement before they burst out and tackled me to the ground. I shared this experience with a friend, and what she had to say stopped me in my tracks: "The joy the kids find in hide-and-seek isn't about hiding. It's about getting found." Years later, I came across a Curt Thompson quote that summed up this universal reality: "We all are born into the world looking for someone looking for us." We long to be seen, to be known, to be loved. So often, however, we don't get the connection we so desperately want. Sure, we have friends. We have families. We might even have people that we can call when faced with an emergency at 3 o'clock in the morning. But we don't feel truly seen, truly known, and truly loved by any of those people. And that's not their fault: we instinctively keep others at a safe distance. As much as we crave connection, we're don't know how to make that happen. Why are we like this? Simply because, at some point during our childhood, we got hurt. We experienced a relational violation or attachment wound that's compelled us to keep others at bay, lest we feel that hurt again. But there's good news: you don't have to stay in this perpetual state of disconnection and loneliness. On June 28th, I'm hosting a live virtual workshop that will teach you the 7 emotional needs every human has. You'll also be guided to identify your deepest need—the one that drives your instinctive behavior. It's a heart-focused experience that will put you in the driver's seat of your life and help you take the first steps towards forging the connection you've always wanted.
I'd love to see you there and help you see that there's a new way of living available to you. Because you are loved. I am for you. You've got this. Jake |
I'm a faith-fueled formation coach & speaker who develops fully-formed leaders to become who they truly are and live with no regrets.
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