Retreat
Do it - yourself
As I enter into week two of a monthlong work-stay retreat in Ireland, I have been reminiscing on the past retreats that I have participated in as both leader and participant. As it goes, the participant is heavily reliant on the leader and their retreat staff to act in the Julie McCoy cruise director-role to keep the schedule packed with activities lest the retreatants experience the mental suffering of digital and whatever else (chocolate, alcohol, drug of choice) withdrawal. Because suffering is not allowed on retreat.
As the leader of the writer’s retreat, the yoga retreat, the destination retreat, or the experience retreat, (cooking or olive harvest activities in Italy, anyone?) this is what we are paid and educated to do for our retreatants. But as a participant this time around, I am looking through another lens. In fact, this is the closest thing to a self-guided retreat that I have ever done. (And I have done a few).
Here at this Carmelite hermitage, you can be a guest retreatant or a work retreatant. Either way, you are given the community schedule, which includes daily morning and evening prayer. You are assigned your own cottage to be reclusive in and are provided with food to cook in your cottage-kitchen. Once a week on Sundays, we share a noon meal together.
Being the “outgoing introvert,” I chose this hermitage - this religious secluded community - to interact with when not being reclusive. I chose to go to a place where I could garden in November. I also wanted to be in Europe or the UK - somewhere that I haven’t visited before. Also, somewhere with nature right out the front door. Most importantly, I wanted a place to be able to unplug from my daily routine of news consumption. (A bit of suffering right there.) Here at the hermitage, there is no internet connectivity in the cottages. We must walk a quarter mile to get to a building that has Wi-Fi, but that provides no heat in our evening 35-degree winter weather. (More suffering.)
And that is the point before going on retreat - to consider carefully what you like and dislike, make a list of wants, set boundaries for yourself, set a timeline, and off you go. There is no travel agent that knows what you need like you do.
Blessings & Love & Happy Thanksgiving,
