The Meeting After the Meeting

There’s the prep for the meeting which can involve (and often requires) more effort than the actual meeting. And then there’s the meeting – which goes much better when we’ve prepared.

And then there’s the meeting after the meeting. I find that – almost always – there is a meeting after the meeting. And I’m not talking about the parking lot conversations where people whisper things to each other that they were afraid to say in the meeting.

I’m talking about the follow up plans that were alluded to during the meeting. Or perhaps it could be a meeting about an entirely different thing that everyone in the meeting didn’t need to discuss. Or perhaps it was preparation for the next meeting.

And then there is the very, very essential meeting with whatever calms our nervous system when the meetings are finally over for the day. If we are blessed with privilege, we can take that time for ourselves. And we can offer that time to others.

Friends, be gracious and generous with each other. Meetings are necessary (and please, for the love of God, cancel those which are not necessary.) And cling to those essential meetings with the Holy, with nature, with quiet company that restore our souls.