Like most of us
reading this newsletter, I get a bit too busy sometimes. And when I do, my
tendency in the past has been to just push through and not stop to rest until
it is all done. Of course, it is never all done. So, we just keep on going. But
sometimes it gets too much and/or we are given the chance to reflect on our
habitual ways of dealing with our busy-ness. One of those times came for me
when my son was one (he is now 15). His first year was particularly hard, and I
was more than exhausted.
Because I am a faculty member, however, I had to go to an academic conference. In a way, I welcomed doing so, as I was able to have a bit of a break from caretaking. I also welcomed it because, unlike most of the conferences I need to attend, this one was in a beautiful place: Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. For the first time in a year, I had some sense of open space around me. I had a bed to myself, and I had no one interrupting me. I have come to believe that the psychological space I felt, combined with the inspiring natural environment, allowed for an opening in my heart that I had not had in a while. And in that opening, I was given a gift: I came to see, in great detail, a place just for women where they could come anytime that they wanted and were able to, just to be. To be quiet. To be contemplative. To be cradled. To be inspired. To be left alone. Or, as has developed over time, to be in community with others.
I told some people about it at the time, as the vision was wonderful, and it did not seem to have come from my own mind. But I was a mother of a young child, and a relatively early career academic, and the time was not right to start a retreat center. In fact, I really had no idea what it was I envisioned nor what it was meant to accomplish.
Over time, however, I have come to a very different sense about this whole project. I have come to believe that what is now called Hestia Retreat, named after the Greek goddess of hearth and sanctuary, is a part of a worldwide set of changes meant to provide a more supportive environment in which humans can live and thrive. Our particular part of these changes focuses on women and our particular need to take time from our everyday lives to reconnect with ourselves, to understand what calls us, and to honor what our bodies and hearts want us to hear. This feels like a sacred contract. By that I mean two things: that those of us who are creating Hestia Retreat are doing so in the support of something imperative to our global well-being, and, as individual women, it is a sacred act to take care of ourselves, to listen to our own voices, and be who we are as fully and authentically as possible. Retreating is a significant part of that process. And Hestia Retreat is meant to provide the absolutely best and most beautiful place for that sacred commitment to self and the larger world. Vashon Island has proven to be the perfect location for Hestia Retreat to be housed.
Everything has aligned thus far to make Hestia Retreat possible. When I finally decided that the time WAS right (in late 2009), I immediately met Pam (now Mela) Bredouw, whose lifelong heartfelt desire was to create a women's retreat. The two of us have an incredible partnership and a very feminine sense of how Hestia needs to come to fruition. Over time, we have been joined by a much larger circle (a Hestia symbol, by the way) of women who have supported the crafting of a much more complete vision of Hestia Retreat, literally and figuratively creating the "hearthstones" of our project.
This larger circle has revealed the importance of community, of women supporting, teaching, and learning from one another. The awareness that women need quiet and they need a certain kind of community and connection has enlarged the vision of what our "retreat" will offer. So, while there will always be a focus on quiet and serenity, Hestia Retreat will also be a place for coming together in support of one another. Our monthly "hearth circles" and our annual Women's Day of Wellness are all held in support of the magnificence of what can occur when women share their gifts and their open hearts.
The Hestia Retreat project has been an act of faith, something an academically-minded person like myself can find challenging. But I have learned to "listen" to the synchronicity of events and trust that we will grow as we are ready to do so. None of this is on our time schedule. It has its own unfolding. And I am learning to honor that. In doing so, I have learned so much about the ways of life, the magic that exists all around us but that can be hard to notice. Unless, of course, we slow down...and take time to retreat.
Because I am a faculty member, however, I had to go to an academic conference. In a way, I welcomed doing so, as I was able to have a bit of a break from caretaking. I also welcomed it because, unlike most of the conferences I need to attend, this one was in a beautiful place: Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. For the first time in a year, I had some sense of open space around me. I had a bed to myself, and I had no one interrupting me. I have come to believe that the psychological space I felt, combined with the inspiring natural environment, allowed for an opening in my heart that I had not had in a while. And in that opening, I was given a gift: I came to see, in great detail, a place just for women where they could come anytime that they wanted and were able to, just to be. To be quiet. To be contemplative. To be cradled. To be inspired. To be left alone. Or, as has developed over time, to be in community with others.
I told some people about it at the time, as the vision was wonderful, and it did not seem to have come from my own mind. But I was a mother of a young child, and a relatively early career academic, and the time was not right to start a retreat center. In fact, I really had no idea what it was I envisioned nor what it was meant to accomplish.
Over time, however, I have come to a very different sense about this whole project. I have come to believe that what is now called Hestia Retreat, named after the Greek goddess of hearth and sanctuary, is a part of a worldwide set of changes meant to provide a more supportive environment in which humans can live and thrive. Our particular part of these changes focuses on women and our particular need to take time from our everyday lives to reconnect with ourselves, to understand what calls us, and to honor what our bodies and hearts want us to hear. This feels like a sacred contract. By that I mean two things: that those of us who are creating Hestia Retreat are doing so in the support of something imperative to our global well-being, and, as individual women, it is a sacred act to take care of ourselves, to listen to our own voices, and be who we are as fully and authentically as possible. Retreating is a significant part of that process. And Hestia Retreat is meant to provide the absolutely best and most beautiful place for that sacred commitment to self and the larger world. Vashon Island has proven to be the perfect location for Hestia Retreat to be housed.
Everything has aligned thus far to make Hestia Retreat possible. When I finally decided that the time WAS right (in late 2009), I immediately met Pam (now Mela) Bredouw, whose lifelong heartfelt desire was to create a women's retreat. The two of us have an incredible partnership and a very feminine sense of how Hestia needs to come to fruition. Over time, we have been joined by a much larger circle (a Hestia symbol, by the way) of women who have supported the crafting of a much more complete vision of Hestia Retreat, literally and figuratively creating the "hearthstones" of our project.
This larger circle has revealed the importance of community, of women supporting, teaching, and learning from one another. The awareness that women need quiet and they need a certain kind of community and connection has enlarged the vision of what our "retreat" will offer. So, while there will always be a focus on quiet and serenity, Hestia Retreat will also be a place for coming together in support of one another. Our monthly "hearth circles" and our annual Women's Day of Wellness are all held in support of the magnificence of what can occur when women share their gifts and their open hearts.
The Hestia Retreat project has been an act of faith, something an academically-minded person like myself can find challenging. But I have learned to "listen" to the synchronicity of events and trust that we will grow as we are ready to do so. None of this is on our time schedule. It has its own unfolding. And I am learning to honor that. In doing so, I have learned so much about the ways of life, the magic that exists all around us but that can be hard to notice. Unless, of course, we slow down...and take time to retreat.
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