Our First Full Day On Retreat

Post by Rev. Lucy Bunch, Director of Embodied Practice

I had forgotten the spaciousness.  

This is my fourth year as one of the leaders of SpiritRest and it continues to be a blessing. When I am getting ready each year, my body starts relaxing every time I think of being here. But each time I arrive it’s different. And this year it was hard. 

We have completed our first full day here and I feel like I am finally settling in. When we first arrived on Sunday I was anxious - about the schedule, about the room set up, about the food, about my room. I kept forgetting what time I was supposed be leading something, and checking the calendar obsessively. Moving, churning, flailing, struggling to settle in. 

​It took one full day for the spaciousness to take hold. The spaciousness created by silence, and good will, and wonderful seekers coming together. The spaciousness of time and peace and ease. In our responsive reading last night we said “orientation to the world outside slips away.” Indeed it does. 

​I remember now. I remember how delicious a carrot tastes when you take time to taste it. I remember the power of voices singing together in harmony. I remember what it feels like in my body to relax. I remember that feeling of spaciousness when time seems suspended, and I can reflect, restore and be at peace.  

May you be blessed by spaciousness today.