The Value of a Being Elsewhere Just For a Spell

"Retreat" is My July Theme in Julie's Pod

Everybody does it.

In every form of “retreat” I can imagine, you take a detour from your regular path in the amorphous pursuit of something you hope will help you become more of what you seek to be.

Well that’s what I’m up to right now – I’m on a retreat to write my next book (THE BONUS YEARS, on getting great at multigenerational living). While I’m right where you’d expect me to be – in my Pod, I’m retreating from the world for 40 days by having no meetings and not even going out for coffee or to the store if I can help it. You see, our City Council’s six-week summer break is the only time I have to devote myself solely to this book, so I’m grabbing these hours by the horns and making them obey. My goal is 1000 words a day. Thanks to YouTube, I’ve got monks singing Gregorian chants to accompany me.

Today is Day 9. (If you want to follow my progress, I’m documenting it on TikTok and re-posting those videos to my Instagram stories and I’m “jlythcotthaims” in both places.)

Retreat can be a journey to →OR← from anything. Away from what doesn’t serve toward what we hope DOES. From:

• overwhelm —> calm

• scattered —> focus

• drudgery —> purpose

• illness —> greater health

• confusion —> learning

• weakness —> strength

• toxicity —> ease

• fear —> hope

• stuck-ed-ness to —> visioning a way forward.

While we may not even leave our house as we retreat (as is the case with me), just telling ourselves “I’m on a retreat to →OR← from” shifts our mindset, and creates an alertness that makes us more susceptible to the wisdom of our own plans and commitments. It’s like the self turns to the self and says I guess we doing this huh? And the self responds: Yup.

All too soon, I’ll be done with my retreat and back in regular mode. So, along the way I thought it might be valuable for me – and hopefully you, too – if I encouraged reflection and intentionality about how we structure “retreat” so this precious time ends up giving us what we hoped we’d get when we decided to go there in the first place.

I’m curious as to what YOU’re retreating from, or to, these days? Everyone is welcome to share in the comments, and if you’re a paid subscriber you’ll be able to access two pieces of premium content:

• My monthly theme call on “Retreat” which will be held on Zoom on Sunday July 20 at 2pm Pacific.

• A link to read and give me feedback on the opening pages of my new book, THE BONUS YEARS.

Those invitations will be going out to paid subscribers tomorrow, so if you want one or both of these opportunities, act now, what are you waiting for, free knives(!) just kidding…

xo