Retreating
By Chris Dunmire
Retreating to replenish, rejuvenate, reinvent, renew, reawaken, rejoice...
Eyeing the freshly-turned page on my 2009 Eckhart Tolle New Earth calendar, I gaze at the breath-taking photo welcoming forth May with a row of magnolia-blooming trees planted over a carpet of deliciously dark-green grass sprouting with vibrant purple flowers. The inspiring caption reads:
“Your entire life journey ultimately consists of the step you are taking at this moment. There is always only this one step, and so you give it your fullest attention.” — Eckhart Tolle
I pause and contemplate, then assess strings of days this year emptied of their moments which haven't received my fullest attention. The arrival of Spring in our four-season midwest climate has just woken me up from a winter hibernation and is melting away my seasonal blues. As I grow older, I find the cold, gloomy winter months taking their toll.
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A spotted orange-red ladybug beetle lands on my desktop planner populated with penciled-in appointments, project deadlines, and jotted notes filling in lined squares representing days of my life, hours of my days, and moments of my existence. She walks across Wednesday, the day I will board a plane to fly thousands of miles away to the sunny Southwest to visit with family and settle into a quiet, self-imposed Artist Soul Retreat to enjoy solitude, contemplation, and rest from my usual routine.
Three weeks are cordoned off on my calendar with a thick, bright-yellow marker highlight border like police tape around a crime scene. Within this space I will tend to my spring garden and enrich my soul-soil in preparation for new seeds and growth. I intend to replenish and renew and reawaken to the meaningful moments of life that beg my fullest attention Now. I anticipate this time to create and recreate.
(This retreat is the first private, quiet time in 2009 I've scheduled just for me — unplugged from the computer, away from my office, not checking e-mail remotely, etc. It's actually the first solo retreat I've planned away from my professional duties during my entire working life [20-some years]. Yes, it's about time and an important example of self-care that I highly recommend.)
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I encourage you to spend quality time this month nurturing yourself and giving your 'fullest attention' to an area in your life needing more comfort, connection, and care. If you haven't been, make it priority to tend to your body, health, mind, spirit. Renew your priorities. Find balance. Rest.
The ladybug visitor flies away from my day planner. Following her instincts, she lands in a small slice of sunshine overlapping the windowsill. She knows she doesn't belong cooped up within these walls — her life awaits her elsewhere, outside in the natural world. Exercising my own power, I open the window and set her free. •
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Inspiring Writers for an Artist's Retreat
Articles by these authors may help inspire and lead you through your own Artist's Soul Retreat. All of them have been instrumental in my personal journey and in establishing May as the official Artist's Soul Retreat Month on Creativity Portal:
Next: Returning from the Retreat
© 2009 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved. |
