What does “retreat” mean to you?
Or, more precisely, when your heart, body, and soul scream in unison “Retreat!”, what images come to mind?
I’ve joked that my pattern interrupt has been so on-going that when I finally settle back into a pattern that will be the interruption, that the liminal spaces and places have stretched so long and wide, they are no longer liminal. This is a place and space I’m in, have been in, and may be in for a while longer.
I want to retreat from it.
Is that what you envisioned? A retreat from something?
But the “it” is not so much the problem, it’s my position in it. I can’t seem to center.
Could this be my grief? Based on a couple of sentiments sent to me, I don’t seem to wear grief as expected. I don’t wear it well or maybe I forgot to put it on? Everything is scattered.
In this vast and spreading liminal space, I scramble. I can’t seem to find the edge from which to jump off, and the center shifts beneath my feet.
I want to retreat to something, to a new pattern that can be interrupted later (much later please), a routine to steady my step and move my projects forward.
I’m lost on the liminal plains.
When you think retreat!, what do you see?
Serious question because I’m not just asking for myself. I also have a retreat project.
Would you retreat to or from?
I want both.
Would you retreat alone or with a group?
Part of me craves alone. In isolation with running water, coffee, cheese, and tortillas. Just me and the basics.
I could also go with alone but pampered, where meals magically appear, and the universe mysteriously draws a warm bath for soaking in the flickering light of scented candles.
If you choose group over alone, would you choose a group of friends or a group of like-minded strangers gathered to hone a craft or learn a new skill?
Part of me longs for a retreat with a group, another boat trip with girlfriends, on the water, in the semi-wild of a large lake.
I’m also actively looking for writing retreats that appeal.
So many choices. But what is the right one right now?
I’m not sure if “Retreat!” is the key to releasing myself from this perpetual pattern interrupt, but I’m ready to give it a try. And if it turns out that this is just a fancy way to decorate the ever-extending liminal spaces, I’ll take one alone over there in that corner, a pampered one by the window, please, a friends’ one in the middle seems right, and we can polish it off with a learning one right here up front.
What kind of retreat does your heart long for? Say the word retreat a few times and close your eyes. Tell me what you see.
©Pennie Nichols. All Rights Reserved. 2022
Retreat? I’ve been dreaming of going to a writer’s retreat. I’ve never been to one and I fantasize…
I can’t think of anything more difficult than having the anchor to which you’ve been clinging suddenly pulled up, leaving you to drift and shift with every fickle wave. I remember a good friend years ago just after losing her young son after a long and fierce battle with cancer. She couldn’t seem to get her feet under her. I told her, “Terry, you’ve been emptied. It’s time for you to be refilled.”
A retreat would be a great start!
I think so too. 🙂
I have never been to an official, organized retreat. But I look at the several months after my mother in law (My husband and I had been one of several caregivers for her for five plus years) passed away the day after Thanksgiving, 2018. First, I was in no mood for a holly jolly holiday season. A cousin in New York City offered to have me visit right before Christmas. She couldn’t put me up but she did pay our Brooklyn motel bill as she had lots of Holiday Inn points that were getting ready to expire. I said yes, on condition that we didn’t do anything Christmas-y. And, the next month, we visited my husband’s cousin in Palm Beach County FL and had a wonderful almost week with them. I’ve never really thanked both cousins the way I should have. Both made healing possible. I hope you find what works for you. Just as a side note, it saddens me thinking that you have received heat for not mourning the “right way”. There is no one right way!
Thanks, Alana. I wouldn’t say I’ve received heat. The expectations about where I should be have been expressed many times. I don’t see the merit in discussing where I’m not. It’s not too late to thank your cousins. What a gift, to open space for you to just be with your feelings.
I just returned from a weekend yoga retreat. There were 18 people there, including my daughter and niece. It was a retreat because it was relaxing, I had free time, someone cooked for me, and I could curl up on a hammock with a book. I also like retreats with one friend, and I’d love to try a solo one.
I’m trying a variety this year. Free time sounds delicious…