I just returned from a leadership retreat on Whidbey Island at the Whidbey Institute.
www.whidbeyinstitute.org
For the record, I would like to acknowledge that Seattle's weather has been FABULOUS since I have returned from my travels abroad. Every single weekend has been sunny, calling into question my serious doubts about Seattle's habitability. Seducing me into believing that it is absolutely the prettiest place on earth to live....
And then came the rains. For 4 days, the entire retreat.
However, the Whidbey Institute is tucked away in the rolling hills and forrest land on an island just an hour away from Seattle. It was an idyllic setting. We stayed in an beautiful farmhouse, next to gorgeous gardens, and ate the most fabulously healthy and creative food prepared with a local and sustainable emphasis. Their mission is "Inspiring and renewing people to serve a future that sustains us all." And their practices, people, and placement radiate with a poetic, earthy essence. Any place that can capture my heart amidst endless drizzle and gray is a special place indeed.
I'd like to thank you, Whidbey Instite, for reminding me that gray skies actually make the flowers and green surroundings even more radiant. This is an artist's secret: neutral backdrops bring colors to life.
I would also like to add that I plan to continue traveling meditations. Traveling is less about place and more about state of mind. For me, traveling opens the mind to what is new, unexpected, and adventurous. All this is possible without a change of location. In fact, my most difficult and eye opening journeys have occured on the inside. And these will continue, as I uncover new ways to live into what is calling my body and soul. So for now, another favorite poem, from poet who lives nearby the Whidbey Institute - David Whyte.
EVERYTHING IS WAITING FOR YOU
(After Derek Mahon)
Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.
~ David Whyte ~
(Everything is Waiting for You)
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