I am unsure if I could place my finger on an “unexpected assignment”. For there have been many and in a wide variety of differing areas. As a young boy reading news of amazing things happening in space, I knew that I was going to be an astronaut. Everything I did was focused on that goal, through my teen years and into university. Some barriers that impacted me were small road bumps; i.e. not having a particular skill set, which were easily resolved by applying myself. Other blockages really forced me to examine who I was, and what I wanted to be. I decided one day in grade school that I did not like how my initial reaction to everything was anger. Why anger? Reacting in such away was only driving away those that I wanted to be around me. every time I responded with anger, I felt worse about myself afterward and made interacting with me awkward at best. It was a quick realization that by sharing of myself and helping others to become more for themselves was far more effective and rewarding. Though a quick realization, it was a long, slow, laborious change in behaviours and actions as my previous mode of living made it difficult for others to feel that I truly had their best intentions at heart. Along the way, I realized I did not want to be the astronaut as I saw it. I initially saw myself as directing everyone else to do what I saw was needed, I became one to give of myself, rather than giving orders. When I started my first job out of university, the interviewer said to me that I working with people without university degrees but had experience in the field. He asked how would I react. My response was that I could learn so much from them about how things really work, that after that learning together we could see the Theory and Ideal that I had learned and collaborate. The interviewer was amazed at my response, as every other candidate was stating I will teach them this or that, and in his words my response was the first “service oriented leadership response”. Service oriented leadership?? What a concept. That statement allowed me to see those that I respected most; whether in industry, education, faith, or friendship; were the one’s who chose to lead by enabling others to become better. Through my career, I have done many jobs with a very wide variety of skills. Most people ask me how can any of the jobs I held be consistent at all, being so different. My response was I have always done the same job - that of people development and problem solving; just the details had changed. Now, I see myself as a Celestial Navigator - an extension of being an astronaut; my role is to help others see the shining star that they already are.

Today’s society seems to demand that every individual be the superhero. Very slowly, there is a growing acceptance of being willing to ask for help. Even so, it is easy to look down upon someone asking for help. This verse says in some ways that many of the burdens we carry, are those burdens from and of the self. It simultaneously shows us as Christ the model to follow, and also that through Him, and clarity we can unload those burdens. There are no superheroes with fantastic powers, there are heroes within each of us. We do need to lighten our burdens so that we can in turn help others to lessen their burden. Even with His wandering in the desert, gave Christ the opportunity of reducing His burden. We can take care of ourselves through love and caring; thus extending that to those around us and to the world in whole .

Often people will scoff at the idea of prayer. Yet everyone does it in one way or another. Prayer is seen as someone trying to connect with God. The most effective messenger is that which was created - you , the person in prayer. Some may call it meditation, some may call it reflection, some might even call it an Internal Strategy session; each had a different focus and different concept behind it, yet each is seeking to establish something higher than yourself. The process of prayer allows one to slow down their thoughts, find a path to peace, and ways to re-regulate. That is the key power of prayer. The solution is not going to come from Jesus walking up and handing an envelope, but with the connection to the spirit and the clarity the prayer had given you. Larry had taken the opportunity to connect with what’s was important; and from that approach the issues in a differing frame of reference. The prayer stops the cyclic thoughts of focusing on just the problem and gives the foundation for faith to find what you need.

Hello all. Thank you for inviting me to participate in this group. I am honoured that Larry reached out to me, as he is a man with conviction, integrity and a pure sense of compassion; someone whom I have high respect for.

Quite often, I run into people who decide that they “KNOW” what the problem is and they run out to solve the problem. Most often, they failed to identify what the problem is and solved the wrong thing. Alternately, they apply a very limited corrective action which addresses an effect of the problem, yet miss the needed solution completely. A client of mine was running around trying to fix everything he saw. He was rarely able to get all the way through one issue before another would spring up, and he would dash off to that one. The result was a series of different problems that fed into each other and an employee base that felt they have no agency nor trust. Begin with clarity, know what is important and what the “WHY” is, dig in deep to find the root cause of the issues, let the people with strengths in each area resolve the problems, and as a leader act as clearing the barriers you expect others to encounter. The clarity comes from strong reflection of knowing yourself, knowing the strengths of those around you, and be very clear on the values you want to support and the direction you want to go.