Creating a Container for the Qualities of Retreat
Saturday, March 5, 2011 at 12:55PM A friend recently said humans are harmful creatures.
Which got me thinking.
Maybe Definitely, it is impossible to completely avoid destructive forces in our actions and lives; and though it's another topic for another time, I don't actually think we need to avoid destructive forces, they can be useful and generous in their own right. And that's helpful to know. And at the same time, right now, what I want is to practice giving loving care to my body and mind because I want to engage with creative forces. I know for me, the more I'm able to provide nourishment, spaciousness, rest, and love to myself the strength of my creative force grows. (yes i realize all this talk of love and forces is starting to sound like Hallmark & Star Wars had a love child on my blog, but bear with me....)
It's already March. A sixth of this year already past, and it feels like it snuck by me, but really I'm pretty sure I slunk by it, ignoring the opportunity to do some planning for this year. It's not like the last two months have been bad; things are happening, there have been good projects, new ventures (and adventures) and a great opening party. These things are great! And at the same time, I've sort of felt a bit lost in a new place, fumbling along, and now I'd like to create the map, the guide, the navigational charts so I can remember where I'm heading and how I'd like to get there.
I've been thinking about the idea of retreat pretty constantly since December, but honestly had no idea how to go about giving that to myself. So I'm here now on March 5th, starting imperfectly. I've never been on the kind of retreat I imagine, but I can tell you about the qualities of retreat that appeal to me. Peace, Sanctioned Escape, Living Structure, Creativity, Rejuvenation, Clarity. I'm not going anywhere for my retreat, I'm starting where I am.
I want to find out how many ways I can choose kindness for myself this month. For me it's helpful to create a container for this experiment. So one month is the container. In this container there are some things I'm choosing not to include. But I also want to mention that this isn't really about abstinence. It's about conscious choice. Noticing the needs behind the choice, noticing what other choices are available. Alcohol and soda won't be in this container. Daily cups of coffee, not part of this container. There's no room in here for people pleasing or pointless socializing. There's no room in this container for facebook-coma (you know when you sit down to look at facebook and when you look at the clock suddenly 3 hours have passed? yeah, that), nor it's siblings twitter-fried and feed-reader-void.
This container does hold kindness to my body in the form of skating as much as i can, walking often, giving my body as many vegetables and fruits as i can. This container holds a voucher for one 90 minute massage. It holds home-made smoothies. It holds dreams and planning for what is next. It holds a lot of alone time. This container has many chutes (with lovely vintage pull handles) that I can use to remove the clutter, metaphorically and literally. This container holds compassionate celebration in the form of bubble baths, raw chocolate, coconut water, painted nails. This month has spaces of time with special people, spaces in which we dream together, watch movies, relax, share meals, play games, and create. This month holds the seed of my next project. This month I am choosing to tend to that seed and give it the attention and context it needs to have a chance to grow.
Join in the create your own retreat, tell me:
What are the qualities of retreat that appeal to you?
What do have room for in your container? What do you NOT have room for?
Reader Comments (3)
Beautiful post Laura, and it ties right in with the 30 Days of Self Care I'm doing this month! I love it!! Your writing is so eloquent, an absolute pleasure to read!! It's true, we must make space for the things that nurture us. By abstaining from facebook/coffee/socializing we make room for deep conversation, nourishing meals, inspiration and enlivening experiences!!
Love to you!! xo
I loved this positive and „gentle“ post! And the photos are beautiful, make me think of childhood, dreams, beauty of the world, joy, smile, fantasy, kindness...
Here are the things I’m putting into my container for this month- sunshine and warmth, blossoming trees, a loooot of time spent with my daughter, coffee (it’s a must now if I want to survive during the day :-), improving my English, preparing a birthday surprise for Hacen.
There’s no room for- wasting time, moaning (yes, I’m saying this!), losing self-confidence.
Spring is coming, a perfect time to nourish our bodies and minds :-).
Greetings from Toulouse!
P.S. I like the way you write and I picked up from your post a new word that I didn't know before- "fumble". I find it nice and funny. Thx!
These pictures are magical! Your post really made me smile!
Here's what in my container for the month (and not only) - sunshine, cherry blossoms, violet cupcakes, stolen kisses and a birthday that I'm hoping to spend in a foreign country holding my camera in one hand and my special one in another.
Have a wonderful day!
xxx,
Lily