Going on a retreat is a time to re-energize, so that we may emerge ready to return to our lives with a new perspective.
Occasionally, we need to pause - and step away from the hustle and bustle of our modern life. One way to do this is to get away from our daily life and go on a retreat.
Far more than a vacation, a retreat offers us time to ourselves to rest, heal, reflect, and renew our spirit. It is a time to re-energize so that we may become renewed,
refreshed, and ready to return to our everyday lives with a new perspective. A retreat gives us time for uninterrupted meditation so that we may go deep within and spend
time with ourselves. A retreat may offer quiet, solitude, and sometimes even silence. Retreats should happen in places that allow our senses to be reawakened to the
beauty of unadorned tastes and the sights and sounds of nature. When we spend days in contemplation, we can more easily hear our heart when it speaks to us. We also are
able to really listen when a bird sings, deeply breathe in the smell of flowers, or the salt from the ocean, and delight in a soft breeze blowing on our cheek and the sand
beneath our feet. When we go to a retreat we have time to take a long, reflective walk along a pristine beach where we can give each step our full attention. There is
something magical about waking barefoot on the beach the sand caressing your toes. There is much written about the blue zone and the power of hearing the waves for a length
of time. Without the pull of deadlines, relationships, the Internet, or other media, we give ourselves time to go deep into our own solitude where we can fully reflect
on our joys, sorrows, and fears, owning and releasing them as needed. Reading a book may become a new pleasure. We may even come to know and understand our life path more
deeply. Hopefully, when we return home, we can take a little bit of this time alone back with us and create the space for deep reflection on a daily basis. We also may
come back to our life renewed and ready to take on the world. The beauty of going on a retreat is that no matter where you go or how long you stay, you'll always meet
yourself when you get there.