Retreat

For your consideration…..

Socrates is credited with saying “Know Thyself”. Two simple words requiring a lifetime of diligent work uncovering and rediscovering our perfect self.

Have you ever had the feeling the harder I work the farther behind I get? We always seem to be on the run just to keep up with ourselves and what we and others expect of us.

The work on ourselves always seems to come last. Yet that is exactly what needs to come first. Because the better we are the more we have to give.

Today’s message encourages us to “retreat”. Set aside a time with no agenda, no tasks, no plan. Just you with you. What bubbles up will amaze you:  ideas, love, clarity, dreams. Perhaps even unresolved things like grief, sadness or anger and bitterness will rise to the surface. When we let it all bubble to the surface, we can see it for what it truly is and take action.

Emotions like grief, sadness or anger and bitterness need to be thanked for their service and released into the light for healing. Because once they have risen up and we have looked at them, we longer need them.

The love, ideas ,clarity and dreams we can seize and begin nourishing them. They spawn HOPE. They give us a new beginning or perhaps a fresh way at looking at our life.

For people who know me they have heard me say this many many times. There is something about being “unplugged” that is so good for the soul. I have taken a month a couple of times and been amazed at the results. But I have come to realize that is not enough. Waiting a year to unplug for a month is not enough. And for most people it is not practical. And it is not consistent enough.

We have all heard of “date night”. Busy couples schedule a night out to make sure they take time for themselves. Each of us needs to do that for ourselves. We need to regularly schedule “me retreat time” where we are simply by ourselves with no agenda, tasks or plans. It needs to be away from home and all of the distractions and reminders of what we have waiting for us.  Just you with the amazing you You will like the results.  That is the HOPE.

Bit by bit, piece by piece, hope by hope action steps anyone can take…

-Meditate. Even 5 minutes is better than not at all. No judgement. Just focus on your breathing.

-Drink lots of water. This is a real strong message lately.

-Identify a place where you can “retreat”. Schedule a time where you can regularly go there and unplug.

-Spend some time outdoors. Take a walk. Get in those 10 deep breaths.

What made me smile yesterday….

-I volunteer at our sportsmen’s club once a month. The “characters” always make me laugh.

-There is a lot of downtime when I volunteer this day so I take a list of things I can do while I am there. I forgot the list. But everyone I wanted to call, ended up calling me. Every task I wanted to get done, I got done. The synchronicity was just amazing. Example: My friend, Pat, called and explained she didn’t know why she was calling. I popped into her head and she felt she should touch base. She was on my list. I explained why we needed to talk.

-Will, ran over his treasured sunglasses with the golf cart. Then he won sunglasses as a prize for the tournament. Don’t you love it? When we just surrender and go with the flow the universe works it all out.

Love, Blessings and Gratitude,

Chris