One day: Dubai
One day I’d like to be packing at home when a car picks me up to take me straight to a plane. The plane ride is lovely. I read, review the book, hydrate, have a drink, and pluck away at my laptop if I feel like it.
When I land a car picks me up from the plane and takes me to some lovely, bright, spacious apartment with a view and with some character, close to the retreat venue.
After I unpack and get settled in and a little refreshed, the car takes me to a solo lunch reservation where I review the profiles of attendees and the agenda for the weekend.
After lunch I go for a short run along the waterfront and then get ready for the evening. The first gathering for the weekend-long reading retreat.
Day One
At 4 pm we convene: myself and all the participants. We have an easy way to introduce ourselves by rotating through one on ones with a clear and easy prompt. There are no more than 10 of us.
We've set our intentions prior using a delightful form to help us reflect and we share them in the mini one on ones as we rotate through them a second time.
We sit down to refreshing drinks at a round table with a wonderful view high up in the Burj Khalifa. It is surreal to feel the swaying of the building at this height.
Everyone has a prompt on a card in front of them. We all sit quietly and read the prompt. I ask if anyone has any response stirring in them.
We have a wonderful dialogue.
We all stop periodically to journal to capture some of the fruits of our dialogue. Time flies and the conversation is wonderful. We take a break, walk around, explore a bit.
We reconvene for dinner and the conversation continues but informally, we can't not talk about the topics the text we've read in common brings to mind. We also get to know one another using two seat switches throughout the meal.
There is an optional after party at a nearby bar restaurant, no obligation. For some the time zone change and travel has been tiring.
That's day one.
Day Two
Day two I wake-up easy and go for another little run along the water. I journal during and after breakfast to collect my thoughts about what we talked about and how well we talked together. Also about how we might be able to go even deeper as a group.
At the same table in the tall building, we have another shorter gathering for a little spillover dialogue. I ask, “What stuck with you from last night's conversation? What got stuck inside your mind and has swirled around since then?”
Everyone either stays for lunch and continues chatting or explores to find their own.
After lunch is our crown jewel activity. Here in Dubai it's a short boat ride after we watch those who want to skydive drop from the sky. We pick them up and then get on our way for views, food, drinks, music and sun and fun all afternoon. We of course continue processing what we read and the dialogue we’ve enjoyed in pockets here and there and in the backs of our minds as we move over the Gulf’s waters.
When the fun is had we head off home to regroup for dinner with plenty of time. We refresh, workout, nap, whatever feels good.
As evening approaches, we’re back with our inspiring views high up in the Burj where cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a delicious last dialogue prompt are served up.
Dinner arrives as the conversation picks up and then the conversation crescendos as dessert arrives.
Another after party at a lovely location with a view, optional of course. Dialogue can be tiring if you’re showing up for it fulling and really letting others’ and new ideas alter your perspective.
That's day two.
Day Three
Day three isn't much of a day. It's a short one. Everyone breaks fast themselves if they'd like
We all meet up for one last chance to digest together what we read and share our takeaways not only from the text, and the conversation but also the weekend as a whole and the spaces we enjoyed and moved through, “How are we more enriched now? After this adventure? What did we expect? How did the experience differ from our expectations?”
And that's a wrap.
Feedback forms easily delivered are passed around on iPads before we leave.
Everyone bids each other farewell and heads home or onto a tacked on adventure nearby.
And then back to normal life.
But life transformed by our learnings from our new friends made in infinite dialogue.