The Buddha said, "There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth... not going all the way, and not starting." Congratulations on starting!

With one hurdle crossed on the path to truth, there is still the need to go "all the way." How does that phrase make you feel? Excited? Anxious to start? Worried about committing time and talent? All of these feelings are natural at the start of a new adventure. Allow yourself to fully experience all your emotions, even conflicting ones. These feelings can be helpful: They will give you the energy to lead workshops and urge you to check (and double-check) your work. Yet, they have a time and a place. Decide which feelings will be useful to you during the workshop when working with youth. Bring those feelings along and lay the others aside, for now.

If you have a regular spiritual practice, use it before convening the group. If you do not have a spiritual practice, make time to relax, take deep breaths, and center yourself at the start of a path to discovering new truths about our multi-religious world.