My husband went on retreat last weekend to Crestone, where She Glows Retreats will be hosting our IGNITE Retreat this fall.
It is one of our commitments to each other: that we'll each take annual (at least) retreats. Though it's hard to leave, we believe retreating is the only way to uncover the next evolution of ourselves so that we may share it with others.
He came home the morning of Mother's Day, and immediately, I could sense the change in him.
His shoulders were dropped, smiles came more freely, and there was an ease about the way he engaged the world. He was ready to be back in the fray: parenting, work, all of it. He seemed energized and playful, happy and light. He embodied a new sense of perspective. This made the kiddos and me feel calm and happy, too.
He took with him a number of spiritual and personal growth books, and audiobooks. He spent his time reading, meditating, dipping in the hot springs, hiking and exploring. He wrote in his journal, and slept well.
He came home an elevated man.
Sometimes we feel selfish stepping away for ourselves. We continuously justify girl's trips, work trips, conferences and seminars, and family holidays.
But a retreat for just ourselves? How incredibly indulgent, we think. What's the point?
We have become excellent at acquiring, and taking on more: more obligations, goals, more commitments, more workshops, books to read, exercise classes, friendships, and new hobbies to undertake.
But we are less clear about how to let things go. How to be still. How to quiet the ruminating mind, and constantly fluctuating emotions.
The soul speaks to us always, but can we hear her is the more important question? In our day to day lives, she is increasingly difficult to find.
The soul speaks in spaciousness, rather than in confines. And though they are beautiful and chosen, our life is filled with confines. But, the more space we clear, the more soul we hear.
The Transcendentalists (Emerson, Fuller, Thoreau and Whitmen) knew of the value of solitude and retreating in nature, and practiced it with regularity.
"There are voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter the world." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our world, communities, families and friend groups are hungry for leaders that live and act from the space of the soul. And the only way to truly know the self is by creating expansiveness in our life by stepping out of it, on occasion.
Whether you join a retreat or create your own, allow the space to let your soul speak.
Your people are waiting for the very best you..
Love you's,
Brie
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Looking for a little guidance on retreat?