Retreat Day

Colomia bud

The new moon comes mid-week, and, historically, this is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat, set intentions, and initiate something new.

If at all possible, I schedule a day of retreat near to the new moon, and so today I will take time to write, and to be quiet in my garden.

Agenda
1. Read "Everyday Simplicity"
2. Teamwork plans

3. Design a card

1. Read "Everyday Simplicity":

I bought myself this little book, by Robert J. Wicks (2000), as a birthday treat. The subtitle is: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth.

I'm on to the third section of the book, which is Fostering Simple Compassion: "When compassion joins an attitude of awareness and the practice of prayerfulness, a 'circle of grace' is formed."

He offers five parts, and the third is Welcoming Home, about offering the people we meet a sense of peace - the "ordinariness, openness, and welcoming spirit that comes from an attitude and life of prayer ... To do this we must each have a space within us ..." 

Making this space is a process of honesty, forgiveness, and compassion, with yourself and with others. People can sense this comfortable space - when I am able to release my prickly, judgey, rigidity and let people be themselves. "This spontaneous negative style, in which anger or disapproval rises naturally and easily to the surface, needs to be replaced and softened with a little daily attention and care..."

Practice for this section: Practice a daily opening to forgiveness and kindness that allows me to be a hospitable and welcoming presence for all.

2. Teamwork plans:
Sundays is when I list some plans and create some visuals for my team projects, such as clerking, childcare, and family celebrations. I consider how I am creating synergy with my teams, developing trust relationships, and realistic expectations with my community, and think of the ways I can be prepared to communicate my vision for projects, teamwork, field trips, and other expectations. My ideas:

1. Clerking: Make a plan for business meeting with the words I want to say; make an agenda for my meeting with Leonora.
2. Camp: Go over the field trip schedule again.
3. Celebrations: Send an email about fire, Tuesday picnic at Monroe, and birthday pie potluck

3. Design a card:

One of my goals this month has been to engage in "creative self-care" to build a hopeful flow that will anchor me, build my resilience, and help me to impact the world. Lat week I made the first of my Wisdom Word cards, and this week I plan to make another, with this quote of my own:

"Creativity is our greatest super-power, the rich resource that leads us towards transformation."

Step one was to choose the quote. Step two is to play with a design on Canva.