Planning your DIYR (Do It Yourself Retreat)
Hello you hunka-hunka-burnin' love.
In my recent quest for a bit more stillness in life, I pared down my schedule for the coming week so I could escape the city, and put a call out to see if anyone in my network had access to a place to stay in the woods that I could use to disconnect a bit. However, despite a few very generous offers from friends, the plans I had made to spend this coming week away-from-it-all have unfortunately fallen through last minute, and I am now thinking about how to cobble together my own little stay-at-home retreat space. So this week, I am thinking about some resources I might use to impose some quiet reflection on myself.
Because let's be real: no one else is going to do it for me!
"In the long run, we shape our own lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility." —Eleanor Roosevelt
I am generally at least mildly self-aware about when I need a little self-care/ personal calibration. And in the case of this week, I am open to exploring whatever comes up in the stillness that I am hoping to create for myself to get back in touch. However, to start out, there are two broad categories I am thinking about delving into. In case you are interested in exploring this week along with m, below are a few of the resources I will be contemplating.
Managing the grind
It struck me when I read it a few months ago, and so I want to reread and think about this article on training oneself to be less busy and better connected to one's values.
I also want to watch this video again on the disciplined pursuit of less, or the essential. I liked the suggestion of asking what is the most important contribution you can make to the world with the time and skills you have
I'd like to think a bit more about including more Pyt in my life. "At its core, it’s about accepting and resetting, and is used as a reminder to step back and refocus rather than overreact." I also love a pithy little mantra-word to keep focused on what matters
I also remember feeling resonance with this article about the benefits of optimism for resilience, and would like to give it a solid reread. I am a pretty optimistic person at heart-- but it is nice to be reminded of why it is so important sometimes
Feeling more connected
I was touched by the simplicity of this article on resonance, and how the simple acts of being understood and appreciated can keep us connected. I will likely give it another read and mental chew
I also skimmed this piece about managing one's attention as a devotion to the present, and would like to give it a closer look (and not just because it is about one of my favourite poets)
In a similar vein, I want to reread this article on the art of noticing. I remember liking it a lot, and since I am going to be in the city next week, it may inspire me to experience the place in which I live a little differently
I will also be revisiting some of the resources in previous dispatches, including this one on communicating well, and this one on seeing others complexly and building community
Finally, while not a category of personal reflection, since I have been making some small bit of headway on my goal of cracking the creative writing nut and finishing a first draft of a novel by the end of this year, I was also planning to use part of this time as a mini writing retreat.
I am not going to share a bunch of useful (to me) links that I have found on how to write (though I might take that up in another dispatch). Instead, I feel like the work of creating some personal inner space with the resources above will ultimately help with the writing effort. Perhaps creativity is about what is trying to get in, not what's trying to get out, so making more room in my life for that creative work is an exciting prospect. And the act of rewriting the story of your life can be just as inspiring as reading quotes from successful writers. Receiving advice genuinely requires connection and contact, so I am going to focus for this week on feeling more connected to others and creating the capacity to let more creativity and wisdom in.
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
- Andy Warhol
But wait--- Psychology is not just for people! I enjoyed this article about the psychology of Japanese train stations. But seriously, is all this talk of personal reflection a bit too much for you this week? Then please enjoy this masterclass in a-shoe-eating-chips videography.
From one retreat-seeking person to another, I am glad that we can ask questions about our lives together. I hope you enjoyed this dispatch, and have a reflection-filled week!
Until next Sunday,
The Earnest Platypus