Here’s a bit of writing I did about 10 years ago. I believe it still has legs today and beyond.

Do you have a sense when the party is over? Here’s a little secret I have found out. The party is over when you leave.

We have all stayed at a party too long. If we don’t want it to end, we stay on past its natural conclusion. It does take a toll on us.

What keeps us at this party? I think it’s the lure of missing something. I like to call this sense of missing something: “chasing the horizon.”

Parties are intended to be fun events where you go to entertain and be entertained. They can be wonderful, festive exchanges of our humanness – a terrific taste of life.

But that’s all they are – a taste.

To get more than the hors D’Oeuvres, you have to go somewhere else. You’ll never find life sustaining food at the party. And being a perpetual member of the party scene guarantees anti-climatic feelings, leaving you wanting more and leaving you with an empty stomach.

So, how do you know when to leave? Look at your life. Life leaves clues.

Do you feel a constant state of emptiness? Are you continually striving to fill up that emptiness by chasing carrot sticks? Do you have a penchant for doing it all? These are all clues that you are chasing the horizon.

The horizon is an illusion – a mythical mist. It seems real, but it’s always an empty promise. You can’t get there from here.

This isn’t meant to be preachy. This is just an undeniable fact of life that many people ignore their whole life.

If you think the answer is at the party, you will always be questioning and second guessing yourself.

This is an invitation to come home. Come home to the divine presence that is you. It’s a veritable smorgasbord that fills you up and sates your soul.

After coming home, you will bring more presence and fullness to the gatherings you do attend, and your soul nourishment won’t depend on the paté being served at the party.

All the best,

John