Someone asked recently...

What is Exit 153? My FIRST thought was… I don’t know.

What do you sell? We don’t sell anything.

What do you have to offer? Me, all I have to offer is me.

What is your position or title? I guess, I am a friend.

What does that mean? I don’t really know. I’m just available to be a friend.

Why are you trying to be a friend? I think it’s because I really need friends.

Are you a counselor? If you’re asking, do I have answers to people’s problems, then the answer is, NO. I’m here to listen and share.

What is it that you share? I share my daily struggle, my story… including my neediness, doubts, desperation and loneliness.

Why would you share your story? Because we all need encouragement and encouragement seems to come… when we’re open and honest about ourselves.

We all desire authenticity. We all need to be around people who are real. I need to be around people who feel lonely, scared, worried, desperate and empty… like me.

I experience relief and freedom when I realize I’m NOT the only one with doubts, questions and addictions. I need to connect with authentic people who are vulnerable enough to remove their masks and be honest.

Most people don’t believe there’s a place safe enough for this to occur. My desire is for this to happen at EXIT 153.

Will it happen here?
I don’t know, but the desire of my heart is for this to be a safe space.

Why do you want EXIT 153 to be a safe place? Primarily, I want it to be a safe place because I need it. I need a safe place to be me.

I don’t understand, what are you talking about? I don’t really know. All I know is I need a safe place where I’m free to be broken, raw, scared, tired and at times, out of my mind.

I have no answers but I have lots of questions and most of the time, I don’t think I have an agenda… right up until… a new agenda is exposed… in me!

I desire for EXIT 153 to be a place where people can connect. Where people can be themselves and experience being community.

How do we do this? I don’t know. How do we make this happen?
We can’t, but we’re all in this together… whether we think we are or not.

So, what happens next? I don’t know.
Can you explain it to us or at least give us some kind of game plan? No, I can’t… all I can do is be who I am, where I am and let go of everything else.

How do you do that? Not very well.
What is your goal? I don’t know.
You seem to say that a lot. Yes, I do.

A few years back, in a place of desperation, I found that my two best friends were, I don’t know and I can’t. In this place I was forced to share my story… including my weakness, wounds and fears.

To my surprise, I found that as I opened up and was honest, it seemed to give others permission to open up and be honest.

This occurred more often in a small space, where we were face to face and our raw vulnerability could be felt. In this environment, where people knew my name and I knew theirs… I began to experience safety for the first time in my life.

It was here that we began to authentically say… I see you. I hear you and I feel your pain. It’s ok, you’re ok, we’re in this together… I’m suffering too.

EXIT 153 is NOT a place to get answers or to get fixed. It’s a place to be who you are, where you are and to experience the fact that you’re NOT the only one feeling what you feel.

EXIT 153 is a place to doubt, ask questions, cry, laugh and celebrate. It’s a place to connect and experience life and community. We are NOT trying to teach anything here… yet we desire to experience everything.

We desire to experience community, even though that scares us to death.

We, you and I, don’t know how any of this is going to happen.
But we, you and I, are in this together, whether we realize it or not.
We can’t do this without you, you are a part of us and we are a part of you.

I look forward to visiting with you soon and getting to know you!

STEVE GREER and your friends at EXIT 153!