Retreats have been the new black for a while now. Everyone does them!
(Relaxation, meditation, life simplification, ….ation, …ation…)
A beautiful natural setting, mindfulness practices, healthy food, meditation, a peaceful world around and within you, feelings of light and love and connection to the Goddess within. And, most of all, the intention to take it all back with you into your hectic world to make your life better.
And then you are back, all new and enlightened, to start your new and enlightened life. Well, let’s see…
- Mindfulness Practices – forgotten as soon as you walk into the office.
- Healthy Eating – You’re back to the stress-relief-chocolate and heart-starter-coffee by Tuesday morning
- Presence – You stop noticing anything around you and you’re back to your concentrated and oblivious self by Wednesday
- Meditation – Well, don’t tell me you are going to sit for meditation every morning, while your mind is already at work planning your day, or still at work in the evening going through all the mistakes you and everybody else made that day
- Relaxation – Stress is back to its usual level by week’s end – that is, if you’re lucky and the work place is slow or your boss is away (otherwise, you’ll hit the peak by Monday afternoon)
- Goddess within – No more! You are not in control of anything, things just happen to you – despite you – and spin you in.
- Loving everyone – No way! Your boss is an idiot, your customers are unbearable and unable to make up their minds about anything, your colleagues are incompetent and some of the time just plain stupid, your children are annoying and your husband is the biggest mistake of your life!
- Peaceful World – if only! You read a newspaper headline while waiting for your coffee on the way to work and now half of your day is ruined by some ugly and horrible deeds that someone you never knew did to somebody else you never knew in a place you’ve never been to.
- Source of light – No longer! Just a messed-up bundle of nerves, biting someone’s head off or quietly crying in the bathroom.
- And FINALY – No change for you, missy! Such a recognisable feeling: I promised myself to change and failed again!
Well, maybe (just maybe) we should stop expecting every retreat to change us and our life. Maybe we should treat it for what it is – a time-out to relax, recoup and recover, like any other type of holiday. Maybe then it will work? Just a thought…
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