Musings From An 8-Day Silent Retreat – It’s Time To Go

Day 8 – An end to the retreat. We had one last sit at 6:15, breakfast at 7:00, then back on the banana boats at 8am. At the end of our sitting Julie (the yoga teacher) advised us that some people would feel grief over having to leave and some would be excited about taking what they got out of this retreat back into the world. It hadn’t occurred to me that I might feel sad about leaving. To be honest, I was thinking it was time. But as soon as she said this…I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed. Dominica (from Sydney) said that she thought the grief was about leaving a place where you are completely safe – it doesn’t matter what you say, feel, do – you’re safe and supported by everyone else. And because everyone is ‘mindful’ of what they say and do there’s no friction. Smart lady.

As much as people didn’t want to leave, it was time to go. And why would you want to leave? Everything is taken care of, the food is fabulous and the setting unbelievable.

There are a lot of other things I could say about the retreat, but I’ll end with just a couple of observations:

Have to admit my butt was sore by the end of it – not because of exercise, but because of spending so much time sitting on it! I really need to work on ‘being with the discomfort’ and not repositioning myself as often. I’m told the trick is to not move around as an automatic reaction, but to do it out of care for your body and knowing the difference between the two. Something to work on.
Day 7, 5:00pm circle. Seated on my mat I look up and see Michelle and Steven. In my little head they paint the perfect picture of balance. Steven: strong, grounded – the anchor. Michelle: light, full of smiles and laughter – she just soars. And I smile. “Stay grounded and let yourself fly Lise. Just fly.”

To close off on the retreat, here are some more of my favourite photos. Thanks for reading. The next posts will be about Bali experiences.

This is actually the clouds and sky reflected on the lake. Crazy.

Taken from in front of my hut.

Even in the middle of nowhere Thailand...

The view as you walk down from the washrooms.

The retreat-ees

And we're off. That's Michelle and Steven. She is too darn cute.

That's Tim. He's 78 years old. He and his wife (not sure how old she is, but approximately the same age as Tim) came from Hawaii. This was no easy trip for them. Still, they were here. I was fortunate enough to witness what was probably the most beautiful kiss I've ever seen. Tim and Caroline kissed while on the boat back to the dock - there was so much love, affection, respect, tenderness....it was phenomenal. Only Silla and I were behind them on the boat. We just looked at each other and new we'd been witness to one of the most wonderful moments. They are so inspiring.