Encouragement

L-R:  Jen Gray, Kate Swoboda, Pixie Campbell & Baby Miles, Andrea Scher, Keri Smith, Christine Miller, Katrina Davenport, Christine Castro & Penelope Dullaghan.  Photo taken by Brandon "C'MON!" Campbell.

Much has been written about the retreat these beauties and I shared a little over a week ago, but I feel like there is one thing that has not yet been said that is perhaps the most important take home message for anyone inspired by this congregation:  CREATE YOUR OWN MAGICAL GATHERING.

Since the retreat, many of my other friends have been asking me, "So how did your retreat go?", and I find myself at a loss for words.  I say things like "amazing", "incredible" and "mind blowing", but really those words are too small to convey the power of this experience.  I have been trying to figure out how to express what this retreat did for me and for all of us and I have yet to come up with the right adjectives or descriptions.  I imagine all of us are facing this challenge, and I have no doubt that were each of us to write one paragraph about what the retreat meant to us, we would all have wildly different stories.  Maybe not wildly different, but I believe each of us took away something unique, something we needed but perhaps could not even verbalize before we came together.  Since we all said good-bye, I think we now move in the world differently; we feel stronger, more supported, more capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound.  Katrina sent this email to all of us just two days after we parted:

"I wanted to write to tell you something very exciting that I did today.

I interviewed a chocolatier for the newspaper. During the natural course of the conversation I asked him if he had a web site. He said no. Now, B.R. (before the retreat) I would have thought in my head, "I could design his site and take the pictures for it," but I wouldn't have said a word.

However, now that I'm living in A.R. (after the retreat), I let my thoughts be heard. Because, you know, FUCK IT!

And he was really excited about the idea. So we're meeting to discuss creating a web site for him. And, come to find out, his wife designs jewelry. So I may get two jobs out of the deal. Yay for me!

I wanted to say thank you AGAIN to all of you. Because of the amazing experience this weekend, I've become much braver. I've decided I really CAN do this. I don't need to be scared. I can TRUST that everything will work out. It feels good. And maybe I won't have to worry so much about paying the bills this year."

I still read this email and get teary, and I continue to read everyone's journal entries and other emails and get teary.  There is now an unbreakable thread connecting all of us, and it is enabling us to walk a little bit lighter, knowing our creative community is there for us when we need it.

To anyone who reads this and thinks, "I would love to have such an experience/retreat/community", I encourage you to stop wishing and make it happen.  Reach out to your creative soulmates and friends and tighten your circle.  Your lives will be forever altered in the very best way possible.  I have written a guide to organizing your own creative retreat for the purpose of encouraging anyone and everyone to form their own gathering.  If you would like this guide, I can email you an MS Word document - email me at christine@swirlygirl.com with "Retreat Guide" in the subject line - or I can send it via snail mail.  Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Retreat Guide, 3325 Grand Canal, Marina del Rey, CA, 90292 and I'll mail it to you right away.

"Friendship! mysterious cement of the soul, Sweet'ner of life, and solder of society."  -Robert Blair

Comments

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[kat]

oooo, maria, what a spectacular idea!!! oooooo!!

[maria]

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Anyway, what I wanted to say is that I have had these magical experiences at some workshops and retreats ... although it's been quite a long while ... and when I read about your upcoming retreat, the first thought I had was, 'We should have one out here on the East Coast for some of the cool and talented bloggers I've met online in recent months!' I can think of at least five of us, and I'm sure several more if I stop and think. However, the thought of the work involved in putting together, not having a big enough place to put everybody up, and feeling really overwhelmed with just my regular work and life stuff right now (not to mention that I haven't even done any 52 figments ostcards) made me push that thought to the back of my mind for when there's 'more time.' Of course, that often doesn't come.

So, I would love to see the guide you've put together, yes! Maybe I can reach out to the others and we can somehow brainstorm and collaborate on the organizing of it, finding a place, etc. ... just to get the ball rolling.

Thank you so much for all you give to this creative community, and therefore, the world. :-)

(my email is maria@believestreet.com) ...whenever you get around to it.

[keri Smith]

I feel like I could write a book about the retreat, (figuratively speaking), and when I try to start no words come.

right now the word that comes to me is love.

so i cannot write a book, just a word.

[french toast girl]

I just emailed you with a request for that document... I have a very tiny but wonderful support circle that I also met online. We've only met once, when my twins were a couple of months old, but still we got away for an afternoon of gelato and shared dreams. I'm hoping we can get together again soon... email and Skype are fine and good, but nothing beats talking face to face.

Kudos and blessings on all you do. :)

[liz elayne]

thank you for this inspiration...what a beautiful group of strong, inspiring, creative women you are...

[Feisty]

And I'm tearing up reading my own email again. Wow. I can't believe how I've changed!

If only I could bottle up all the magical-ness of our weekend and take small sniffs of it when I need it. You're right: it's too big for words, but somehow you've managed to capture some of it for us here. MUCH LOVE to you dearie.

[christine]

amen, sista! you put it so well.

[Kate]

You put it so perfectly--when people ask me about how things went I use the same words and yet they don't feel like enough to fully convey how I different I feel. It was a magical experience to bond with everyone. If it were possible to fit everyone into my apartment, I guarantee you I would have already tried to get Retreat #2 going just to keep the magic!

[pixie]

the baby in the three thousand dollar onesie says he wants another retreat. C'MON!!!
i love you today and every day.

[Leonie]

i am so grateful!

[Alexandra]

one of the two main catalysts for me finally getting my site going last week was I think your retreat, this yearning to reconnect magically again to other kindred souls. Its so easy as we get older and encumbered by the daily doldrums of work and paying bills, etc. to forget or put off midnight teaparties with friends. Your retreat sounded like one gigantic slumber party of celebrating souls, and the sharing of the hearts, struggles, and triumphs was simply so moving to me, and I think it reminded me of what I hadn't been investing enough of in my own life. So thank you!And thank you for encouraging the rest of us to long only for so long and actually create what we long for. This is why I visit you every day! ( :

[la vie en rose]

thank you for the encouragement to create my own magical gathering. i'll be e-mailing...now.

[mati]

i am all over this! thank you christine for you!