The retreat I almost didn’t book
There's never a good time
I booked myself onto another silent retreat recently.
No phone. No talking. Not even any books (PANIC!)
Just meals, meditation, and sleep.
And honestly? I hesitated.
Not because I didn’t want to go.
But because the thoughts started creeping in:
“Do I have the time for this?”
“July isn’t ideal, maybe I’ll wait until September”
“Is it fair on my husband? It’s a busy month and I’m fully booked the weekend after too… ”
But the moment I booked it, before I’d even packed a bag, I felt calmer.
Because deep down, I knew.
I wasn’t booking it because I was at breaking point.
I was booking it so I wouldn’t reach that place again.
And because I know, EVERY TIME I go on retreat, I come back
🥰 more patient with my kids (and husband - LOL)
🙏 less reactive when I open my inbox (you know, rather than yelling at it for being ridiculous - I can’t be the only one who does that when stressed?)
☕ enjoying the small moments like sitting down with a cup of tea not automatically reaching for my phone.
And I notice it in the small things too, like sending a difficult-to-word email without double checking it with two colleagues first.
So here’s the truth I’ve learnt again and again:
When you’re someone who always thinks ‘just one more thing then I’ll rest,’ the pause never arrives on its own.
Life rarely gives us a window.
We have to take one.
And when you do, when you let yourself step out of the swirl, it changes everything.
🙅♂️ You stop surviving the busy.
🧖♀️ You start trusting yourself to pause, even when the to-do list isn’t finished.
☺️ You start to enjoy life, not just the idea of your life.
If you do it right, you get SO MUCH MORE than “just” the 48 hours of pause
That’s exactly what my mindful living retreat offers.
Not just 48 hours of rest.
48 hours of chatting with friends without mentally planning dinner. Laughing without replaying the day. Going to bed feeling proud even though you’ve achieved nothing.
A real experience of what it feels like to switch off AND a plan to keep that feeling going after the weekend ends.
The early bird price ends 14th June.
If you’re curious (or just a little bit tempted), you can find all the details here.
The lesson
There’s never a good time
For any of it. To meditate. To take a weekend off. To learn a new skill.
You have to decide if it’s worth it.
Sending love,
Lucy x
PS. Silent retreats are new for me - this is how I felt right before my first one last year!
