The Power of a Different Perspective
Every year around this time, I go off on a retreat by myself. It’s nothing huge or fancy. To call it a sabbatical would be overstating it. It’s just an intentional time for me to connect more deeply with Spirit, my guides, and something greater than me.
I take a few days off work, drive to wherever it is I’m staying, have a really nice meal on the way, and then what happens, happens. I know I’ll be in nature, near water, by myself. Everything else is in the moment. Some years I watch TV. Some years I sit quietly with myself for most of the time. It’s all about being with what I need in the moment.
If this were another blog, this would be the part where I’d tell you that this practice changes everything and it’s magical and if you can just create this for yourself, everything will change.
I mean, maybe.
But perhaps more importantly than some magical whole-life shift, what a retreat gives you is a moment of pause – a chance to notice.
Being in different surroundings is a great way to get some new perspective on things that might seem fixed, or inevitable, or “just the way things have to be.”
And that’s where the real magic is. Because when you get a chance to look at your life from a different vantage point, then you can’t help but notice things. You might recognize some things that you’ve been doing really, really well, and just haven’t given yourself credit for. You might realize that actually, you don’t want to put up with that thing anymore. Or you might see that something’s going on, but you don’t want to address it just yet.
It’s all good. The whole point is that, whatever you choose, you’ve now got an extra layer of insight into what’s going on, where you’re at with it all, and what you need.
Try this:
Look for moments in your life where you can find that pause. That might look like going away for a few days by yourself. Or that might seem incomprehensibly hard. If so, what might a right-sized retreat look like? Maybe you could go sit on a park bench for a while. Or take a walk on a new path by yourself. Maybe you spend one night away in a cosy hotel room. What if you took yourself out to dinner?
As you’re planning your retreat, think about how you can make it as comfortable as possible for yourself. If you’re going somewhere, do you want to bring some comfort items? If you’re going out to dinner, what would make it feel truly special for you? The whole point here is to create an environment that feels different, but safe, so your nervous system can unwind.
Finally, think about how you want to re-integrate after your time away. Retreats work best when you’ve got a little time to digest. What can you build into this process that will help give you some space to move gently back into your normal life, and give you a chance to capture any insights that came while you were away?
As always, if you’d like some support in creating this kind of encounter in your life, I’m here for you. Find out what working together might look like here.