A lifetime of “doing” garners raucous applause from a Western world measured by success at all costs, but unfortunately, it gradually erases the “being” right out of our souls…and body.

Five of us gathered for conversation in a spacious but cozy downstairs room filled with aromatic white cedar and soft brown leather. The space naturally accentuated by floor to ceiling windows framing a painting composed by the master artist of snowy mountain peaks, verdant evergreens, rushing waterfalls and blowing snow. The snow and ice, though outside, seemed to freeze the moment in time. Aquinas might have described it as “proportio” or harmony.

All of us artists granted gifts beyond our deserving. All of us with lofty achievements gained from a lifetime of doing. All of us honestly (desperately, perhaps) searching for what it means to “be.”

As I facilitated the extraordinary and candid conversations, a phrase spontaneously came to me.

“Be alone in the being, not alone in the doing.”

When I speak of aloneness, it should be understood in the context of solitude – not loneliness. For most of us, we twist this idea into a real life filled with crowded being and lonely doing.

Why?

Because most of us have not been mentored and thus we lack the courage to face the trueness and wholeness of our being in solitude. Our lives have been filled with adages such as, “if you want it DONE right, do it yourself.”

Henri Nouwen says, “The question is whether we let our aloneness become loneliness or whether we allow it to lead us into solitude. Loneliness is painful, solitude peaceful. Loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and create community.

Sometimes it seems as if we DO everything possible to avoid the painful confrontation with our basic human loneliness, and allow ourselves to be trapped by false gods promising immediate satisfaction and quick relief.

But what if the painful awareness of loneliness is an invitation to transcend our limitations and look beyond the boundaries of our existence.”

As my life coach once pointedly asked me, “What are you running from in all the doing?”

A life of doing and no being exhausts us and fills us with bitterness, cynicism and dangerous hostility.

We need to “undo the doing.” It is a painful and extremely counter-cultural process, but one that is absolutely necessary for our well-being.

What is one thing you could “undo?”

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Cost is $50 per person and all monies benefit Kalein.

# of people

1 $50.00 2 $100.00 3 $150.00 4 $200.00 5 $250.00

More information and location will be sent after registration.

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We are thrilled to announce CCM Recording Artist and Producer Margaret Becker “Maggie B” will host an intimate Master Class & Retreat limited to eight female artists August 3-6, 2010 at the fabulous 2,000 acres and rustic elegant lodge at Kalein@Round Cove.

“Maggie B” is an award-winning artist and the recipient of Europe’s 2003 Lumiére du Monde Award for public service. She equips the poets. The dreamers. The thinkers. She works to bring people together locally to fashion inspiration that changes humanity globally. Dubbed an iconoclast, a lightning rod and an anomaly, Margaret has spent her career encouraging and empowering persons seeking to work creatively to make a difference in the world. Though most came to know her through her music, it has been through the expanded opportunities of speaking, book writing and teaching that have allowed Margaret to continue to grow in her career as a leader.

“A key element of what good art is to me is its ability to change people, to move them toward doing something they wouldn’t normally do,” she says. And that’s what she hopes to achieve, for herself and those she encounters. She started out as a recording artist, spending the preponderance of her career with EMI’s Sparrow Records. Across 10 albums—and still counting—she’s accumulated four Dove Awards, four Grammy nominations and 20 No. 1 radio hits. She’s been named songwriter of the year by American Songwriter magazine, the same honor she’s received seven times from the performance rights organization SESAC. Every honor is a cherished one for this prolific songwriter who sings with an enviable voice and fashions a presence that’s at once humble and captivating.

But helping people achieve fulfilling lives drives her, and Margaret’s leadership here is remarkable. She has dedicated herself, as a mentor and record producer, to leading young artists toward creative excellence. Further, Margaret has worked as a guest lecturer on the arts to the Gospel Music Association’s Academy of Arts and serves on the boards of the Sparrow Foundation and of the East Nashville Center for the Creative Arts. She’s the author of three books— the elegant memoir With New Eyes (Harvest House-1999), Growing Up Together (Harvest House-2000), and Braving the Elements: RandomHouse/Waterbrook Press, 2004), which describes living from one personal gifts, outward. She’s been tapped as a lecturer to university students, pastors, business leaders and congregations.

Having lived so much of her professional and spiritual life in public view, Margaret has gained unique credibility now enabling her to be a guide in people’s lives. Like a lush tree where people rest on the strength of mature branches and find shelter under its broad leaves, it’s Margaret’s desire to help people find what they need from that nurturing place. “To empower and encourage people.” It’s what she deems her life mission. And it seems that here, in her continuation of 17 years as a venerable public figure, she is doing just that.

For Application click HERE

For Rules & Regulations click HERE

Retreat Cost: $699. per person (Includes lodging and food while at retreat. This does not include travel.)

For Full Bio click HERE

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