sounds really purposeful, hope it yields good things for you. and thanks for reading what i wrote so closely. by “→OR← from” I just meant retreat toward or away from something. i could have just said that instead of using arrows. i guess i like those arrows. sorry it wasn't more clear. i think you're not the only person i confused!
Just returned from our week's retreat in Pajaro Dunes, just a stretch south of you.
15 people representing three generations coming together to experience different rhythms, reconnecting, beach walks/runs, cooler weather, laughing with my sister, chatting, eating pies from Gizdich Ranch, trivia, card games (Cribbage/Casino), flying the kite, playing guitar duets with my nephew, cooking, puzzling, Yahtzee, watching marine biologists rescue a beached seal, reading, resting, enjoying margaritas/ old fashioneds/ West Coast Hazy IPAs, making memories, and treasuring time alone and/or with family.
168 hours well spent, and we've already booked our week for next year!
I am soon to go on a retreat from worrying. I have a couple of more weeks of worrying that needs to be done and then I have earmarked the month of August as worry free. My husband and teenage child will be notified that unfortunately I can not worry about them during said month, I will be present but not concerned. I am planning on getting to sleep early and waking up late. I will retreat from social media, shopping online and all news that does not directly concern me. I will have delicious things on my side table as I will not be worrying about gaining or losing weight. I will have no more than 2 books picked out so I won't need to worry about how fast or slow I am reading. I won't agree to any plans so I don't need to worry about getting out of them at the last minute. And the list goes on. Very much looking forward to August!
Holy shit that sounds amazing Mandy. I love how you're framing it. The bluntness. The clarity. The deliberate effort to retreat from something that is literally "only a feeling inside you" and yet such a powerful force when it is allowed to take over. I'm looking forward to your August, too!
I am on retreat from the rest of the world for 8 weeks. I am currently in a teacher residency/Master's program requiring me to be in class 830-5 everyday. So Im falling behind with my usual duties of caregiver, Mom, wife, friend, neighbor so I can focus on my goals. I haven't ventured farther than class or my dining table (aka workspace).....but today the workload is less and i hope to treat myself to a coastal adventure (maybe HMB?).
oooh how wonderful!!!!! i'm excited for you. have you been to the strawberry farm somewhere between santa cruz and HMB? it's an incredible place to write. the energy is otherworldly.
Retreat is what we call going to the cabin in northern MN where there is no cell service or television so every day you get up and plan based on what the radio tells you about the weather along with looking out the window at the sky, the wind, and the clouds for further information. As I've grown up I've come to dread the word "vacation" with its root in vacate - I may be vacating my home but I am definitely not vacant in my new environs (holiday is so much more lively to envision). So the retreat is to not be vacant but present in a way that refreshes and, with or without a known purpose for the retreat, nature soothes, inspires, awes, nutures, and slows the soul to remind us that we are small in this marvelous place called earth. Your theme of retreat is a beautiful reminder of all we can be in this life when we pay attention to what we need and how to recharge or reframe what we have. We are beautiful, worthy, and loving human beings and retreating gives us the space to be better to ourselves and, by extension, to others. Thank you for the reminder of the benefits of retreat.
thanks for your beautiful reflections Mary. i've had a disturbance in the force this past day and a half but today still contains possibility so i'm about to get back at it
Wow Sammy. Most of us on Council have professional and personal lives we must attend to, on top of public service. We all do our best. You are free to vote against me, but there's no need to be unkind.
I am in retreat, too! On July ‘break’, alone in a block of morning hours, which looks like these:
-unstructured;
-within reach: journal, laptop with many tabs open, headset;
-pampering myself, for any subject I would like to linger a bit longer, allowed;
-Nightstand: a Chinese book related to THE BONUS YEARS (can hardly wait!)
I somehow didn’t get your term of “→OR← from”, can you clarify?
Happy retreat.
P.S. Typed this comment with Gregorian chants
sounds really purposeful, hope it yields good things for you. and thanks for reading what i wrote so closely. by “→OR← from” I just meant retreat toward or away from something. i could have just said that instead of using arrows. i guess i like those arrows. sorry it wasn't more clear. i think you're not the only person i confused!
Just returned from our week's retreat in Pajaro Dunes, just a stretch south of you.
15 people representing three generations coming together to experience different rhythms, reconnecting, beach walks/runs, cooler weather, laughing with my sister, chatting, eating pies from Gizdich Ranch, trivia, card games (Cribbage/Casino), flying the kite, playing guitar duets with my nephew, cooking, puzzling, Yahtzee, watching marine biologists rescue a beached seal, reading, resting, enjoying margaritas/ old fashioneds/ West Coast Hazy IPAs, making memories, and treasuring time alone and/or with family.
168 hours well spent, and we've already booked our week for next year!
unbelievable - sounds utopian! would love the behind-the-scenes take too!
Plenty of B-roll family drama footage to choose from, but I think it might exceed substack's comment size limits...Haha!
CALL ME
I am soon to go on a retreat from worrying. I have a couple of more weeks of worrying that needs to be done and then I have earmarked the month of August as worry free. My husband and teenage child will be notified that unfortunately I can not worry about them during said month, I will be present but not concerned. I am planning on getting to sleep early and waking up late. I will retreat from social media, shopping online and all news that does not directly concern me. I will have delicious things on my side table as I will not be worrying about gaining or losing weight. I will have no more than 2 books picked out so I won't need to worry about how fast or slow I am reading. I won't agree to any plans so I don't need to worry about getting out of them at the last minute. And the list goes on. Very much looking forward to August!
Holy shit that sounds amazing Mandy. I love how you're framing it. The bluntness. The clarity. The deliberate effort to retreat from something that is literally "only a feeling inside you" and yet such a powerful force when it is allowed to take over. I'm looking forward to your August, too!
Thank you!
I am on retreat from the rest of the world for 8 weeks. I am currently in a teacher residency/Master's program requiring me to be in class 830-5 everyday. So Im falling behind with my usual duties of caregiver, Mom, wife, friend, neighbor so I can focus on my goals. I haven't ventured farther than class or my dining table (aka workspace).....but today the workload is less and i hope to treat myself to a coastal adventure (maybe HMB?).
oooh how wonderful!!!!! i'm excited for you. have you been to the strawberry farm somewhere between santa cruz and HMB? it's an incredible place to write. the energy is otherworldly.
Retreat is what we call going to the cabin in northern MN where there is no cell service or television so every day you get up and plan based on what the radio tells you about the weather along with looking out the window at the sky, the wind, and the clouds for further information. As I've grown up I've come to dread the word "vacation" with its root in vacate - I may be vacating my home but I am definitely not vacant in my new environs (holiday is so much more lively to envision). So the retreat is to not be vacant but present in a way that refreshes and, with or without a known purpose for the retreat, nature soothes, inspires, awes, nutures, and slows the soul to remind us that we are small in this marvelous place called earth. Your theme of retreat is a beautiful reminder of all we can be in this life when we pay attention to what we need and how to recharge or reframe what we have. We are beautiful, worthy, and loving human beings and retreating gives us the space to be better to ourselves and, by extension, to others. Thank you for the reminder of the benefits of retreat.
thanks for your beautiful reflections Mary. i've had a disturbance in the force this past day and a half but today still contains possibility so i'm about to get back at it
I wish you would retreat from the City Council so we could get someone whose personal life is less of a distraction instead.
Wow Sammy. Most of us on Council have professional and personal lives we must attend to, on top of public service. We all do our best. You are free to vote against me, but there's no need to be unkind.