My first retreat

I find Cliff House quite easily. I’d been studying the map for weeks (probably months) and felt like I knew all the landmarks by heart. I pull in, and it feels like the clouds part.

I get out of the car, and let myself into this beautiful Victorian house, which is – fortunately – everything I had hoped for. I walk through the hallway, into the dining room and through to the kitchen. It’s in there that I do a little jump up and down, starting to feel the bubbles of excitement for what this weekend is going to be.

 

My sister arrives shortly afterwards, which ramps up the excitement. She and Ross are almost as amazed as I am that this is our home for the next few days.

We walk round everywhere, getting lost and confused a few times. Holly and Lara arrive, and after that, guests arrive in fits and starts. Every time someone new arrives, I feel the excitement all over again.

There are introductions, squeals, hugs, so much chatter. As evening comes in, there’s Prosecco, and then dinner is served. The food is good. The wine is good. Both are better than I had hoped.

Everything’s pretty smooth so far, but I’m nervous for the next bit. For the opening ceremony. This is where I show them what it’s going to be like, here on this retreat. I’m going to introduce some concepts, and I’m going to lead a meditation. Are they going to go for it? Will I be able to calm my nerves to do it?

And there are some hesitations, but everyone sinks into this new way of being – a different kind of workspace.

 

We start to relax in a way we haven’t in a long time.

Every moment starts to get longer, and suddenly it feels like we have so much time.

***

I’ve been trying to find some words to explain what the retreat was like, for me and for my guests. It’s taken a while (unusual for me – I like the words). The retreat weekend was more than words, more than output, more than problem-solving.

It was a feeling.

Last week, I looked back through my notes of how I wanted guests to feel at the end of the retreat, and my notes say: seen and heard, supported, allowed to thrive, nourished, clear, well rested.

Yes, that’s what I wanted. And that’s what happened.

It’s easy to forget that being well rested, really relaxing and letting go of the brain clutter, can allow you to open up to new ideas, to what you really want. That’s what we did.

And on Saturday afternoon, as guests were going for massages and making moodboards, it felt like we’d been there a week. We’d been there 24 hours.

The messages I’ve received then and since have been wonderful, tear-inducing things. I know that the retreat made a difference to everyone who came, and it’s amazing seeing how much people have achieved in just over a week since they got home! That’s what clarity does, I guess.

But it’s also changed how I’m looking at my business. This is the work I really want to do – working with small business owners holistically, talking to them as people as well as businesses. Not just at retreats, perhaps, but acknowledging what we believe and how we feel as people can drastically effect our work as businesses.

Yes to that. And yes to more of this work for me.