retreat

Sometimes, circumstances seem to point us in the direction of pulling ourselves back from the brink…of everything that seems to be pushing us. Getting back to self; to go inward and reconnect to the essence of who we are and why we are here is our individual responsibility. To lead a more full, rich and  peaceful life, retreat is sometimes a necessity. When we feel pulled between what we see and hear and what we feel, it’s time to stop. Take time to breathe. It is time to focus on letting go of what we think we should be doing or feeling and get back to honoring what is real and authentic within.

Perhaps it is my age. Perhaps it is related to the planetary alignments and upcoming eclipses. Perhaps it is the noise. And perhaps it is all of these.

Quiet is calling.

I offer the poem below as a reminder of the beauty in simplicity. The simple things are what truly bring peace, if we slow down long enough to see each and every one.

Everything Is Waiting For You 

 

Your great mistake is to act the drama

as if you were alone. As if life

were a progressive and cunning crime

with no witness to the tiny hidden transgressions.

To feel abandoned is to deny

the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,

even you, at times, have felt the grand array;

the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding

out your solo voice. You must note

the way the soap dish enables you,

or the window latch grants you freedom.

Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.

The stairs are your mentor of things

to come, the doors have always been there

to frighten you and invite you,

and the tiny speaker in the phone

is your dream-ladder to divinity.

Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease

into the conversation. The kettle is singing

even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots

have left their arrogant aloofness and

seen the good in you at last. All the birds

and creatures of the world are unutterably

themselves. Everything is waiting for you.

– David Whyte