Three weeks ago I was driving to Toronto Airport for my trip to St Lucia for a retreat. As I was driving to the airport, I came close numerous times to turning around and heading home. I was asking myself questions like “where on earth do you think you’re going?” And “why are you wasting your time on such a trip?”
When I got to the parking lot at the airport, I remember sitting in my truck for a few minutes with my head back, eyes closed and wrestling with thoughts like “what do you think you’re doing?” Despite this, I muscled my way through my stories and questions and got out of the truck and headed into the terminal. I was silently excited when Air Canada told me they might not let me on the airplane as my passport had been damaged by water previously … “unfortunately” they let me go.
I made it to St Lucia and spent the week there on retreat with the most incredible group of people you could imagine. Despite the big struggle, I knew what was happening. Deep down, I knew this retreat would be a big transformational event for me. So the struggles on the way to the airport that morning were my own bullsh*t stories showing up trying to keep me in my comfort zone.
I’ve been on numerous retreats the past few years, and I’ve come to learn how important retreats are for my life. In my day to day life, I can get caught up trying to get somewhere or being so busy with the work I do that I can lose sight of what’s truly important. Then, along comes an event like this retreat and it unlocks all of the growth that’s been happening in me the past few months.
There’s no question this retreat had a big impact on me, as I notice the difference when I’m doing my work. There’s a different type of quiet confidence present, and I don’t feel as rushed to be anywhere. So yes, I am grateful I chose to keep moving forward that morning.
Thought of the week
I think it might be obvious this retreat had a big impact on me. This is the third week I’ve talked about the retreat, and I will continue unpacking what I learned about myself for some time to come.
As you are looking forward into 2018, why not consider going on a retreat for yourself? Choosing to invest in yourself in this way, just might turn out to be the best investment you could make next year.
If you’re curious here are a couple of upcoming retreats hosted by some incredible people I know:
http://www.molliesommer.com/yoga-retreats.html
http://www.amyhogan.ca/retreat/
