Writing Retreat: Tuesday's Reflection

Home again. Back in the garret at my desk. Bills, emails, phone
calls, errands, appointments await, as does a refrigerator that needs refilling, and a laundry basket that needs emptying. 

I am home from a writing retreat at The Christine Center in Wisconsin, and I am trying not to let the "return be a collision," in the words of our retreat guide, Karen Hering.

Now first let me say that my husband is fully capable and willing to take care of himself and home tasks and does so both when I am gone and when I am home. And for the most part I am able to ease back into routine and responsibilities. 

Still, I would love to maintain the focus and momentum of the last few days, and someone else fixing delicious meals wouldn't be a bad thing either. (The soups, meat loaf and zucchini pineapple bread were particularly yummy.) What is most important, however, is how do I integrate the gifts of that time?

The first evening of the retreat, Karen asked us to share our hopes for this set aside time. 
                "To write something I am satisfied with."
                "To bring parts of my life together."
                "To start a writing practice."
                "To believe in my own words."
                "To remember more of my childhood."

I said I hoped to come closer to clarifying the heartbeat of my book, but I also said I hoped to begin revising the next chapter in my memoir. How grateful I am that I was able to move forward in those ways. At the same time I deepened my relationship with myself as a writer. 

That was possible because we were each given the spaciousness, the safety, and the support in which to honor our goals and our needs. When was the last time you received that gift? When have you not only opened space in your life, but also inside yourself to honor your yearnings? 

When that happens, clarity comes, along with acceptance, sometimes surrender, and even joy. 

The last day Karen asked us to share the gifts of the retreat. One participant said he "found the icepick" he needed to break through to the next task in his writing. One woman mentioned she discovered new questions to ask herself, and another said she felt herself moving, although slowly, into her new suit of clothes as a writer. Yet another urged us not to ignore the gifts we have received from God.  

These are not just gifts helpful to writers, these are spiritual gifts available to anyone. 

How do I begin to integrate the gifts of those days? Well, early in the retreat Karen said, "Remember to spend time with your loved one." She was referring to our writing selves and to the writing we do or hope to do, but I think her supportive advice was broader. 

Remember to listen to your inner voice, to the Divine within you and around you, to the rest of yourself, to the gentle nudges reminding you to live fully, to stay awake.

We can do that wherever we are, but I am the first to admit a retreat clears the way. 

An Invitation
What kind of space or time do you need to respond to the gentle nudges? I would love to know.