Widening Circles– a Zoom retreat
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I will give myself to it.~Rainer Maria Rilke
When I was younger, in my teens and twenties, I had a compulsive attitude toward my own growth. My life mantra was, “I want to be better tomorrow than I am today; I want to be better next year than I am this year.”
Seems pretty admirable on the surface, but the underbelly of this desire was an unrealistic view of what growth actually looks like in a human life. Growth isn’t steady and it isn’t linear. It’s not consistent, nor is it simple. It’s a messy, meandering spiral that just as often takes us into the shadowy depths of ourselves as to the lofty vistas of the mountaintop. This is the death-life-death cycle of the natural world, and it’s the same pattern within us. God reveals this pattern in our lives over and over, and hopefully, somewhere along the line, we recognize it, meet it, and surrender to it with tenderness and compassion.
Trees have been my companions as I’ve reflected on my own journey of the past couple of years. The growth of a tree is clearly visible in cross-section: rings of increasing size, each including what came before, each indicating to experts what that particular year held in its environment and experience. And so it is with us– if we let it, each season can reveal new life in us, an expanding Self that encompasses all of what came before but lives vibrantly in what could be.
I would love to explore this together.
On May 11, 2024 from noon to 4pm EST, I will be hosting a Zoom retreat for those of us who desire to deeply and compassionately engage our own growth, our own meandering journey, and see what we might find there. Through contemplative practices including poetry, movement, silence, and creative expression, we will allow curiosity to lead us and gently tended community to accompany us.
Our time together will be spacious and reflective, with no expectations of you except to be present to yourself as exactly as you are. I trust the Spirit within and among us, and craft an interspiritual space that is welcoming to all.
Registration is limited, so that our space remains intimate. Attendees in the continental US will receive a snail mail package of creative materials, and our practices will be accessible to everyone; no previous creative experience is needed.
Registration form is at the link below.
I look forward to hosting this intimate and meaningful retreat, and sharing together what our widening circles of expansion have offered us, and dreaming of what is to come.
