Why Solitude
A lone rock in a field. A sax blowing once and letting the silence move in. ~Stephen Nachmanovitch, The Art of Is. p 177 Why solitude? A strange question, perhaps. But since we’re getting ready for a 75 minute retreat on December 3rd to explore solitude, it’s one that bears asking. First off, we […]
Embracing Uncertainty
November 4, 2023 Our hearts are heavy. So many troubles in the world. Grief. Confusion. Uncertainty. Whether we are directly impacted by current events or not, holding on to hope right now seems hard, very hard. Even talking about hope can feel frivolous, as if we are denying the realities spilling around us. […]
A change in season
The shift from one season to next is definitely underway here in Toronto. The mornings and evenings are cool (so good for sleeping) and the daytime sun warms the shoulders in such a comforting way. This change in season invites us to think about what lies ahead and how we’d like meet it. We’re happy […]
17,000 Steps
There has been a great deal of turmoil and busy-ness in my life these past few weeks. I was craving connection to the ground beneath my feet, a good walk. My longing was for shady trails in the forest, open fields of late-summer harvest, skies without skyscrapers – but these busy days have prevented me […]
Perhaps you were wondering …
What’s the purpose of a retreat? Retreats offer the opportunity to pause and refresh ourselves. For the time we are in retreat we set aside daily concerns and obligations so we can engage more fully with our hopes, our values, our purpose. A retreat is never a backing away from our lives, but rather a […]
Wildness, Enchantment & Hope
Wildness, Enchantment & Hope: Deepening Our Engagement with Nature is now available as an online retreat. It will consist of four, two-and-a-half hour sessions spread out over the weekend of October 20–22. We appreciate the challenges presented by a weekend online event. Over the course of the weekend we will remain mindful of this, and offer […]
Shimmering at the meadow’s edge
We overfish our waters We deplete the soil We exhaust the resources of the planet. Do we do the same to ourselves? We live, it seems, amidst a culture that values Doing over being. Work over rest. And maybe that leads to over-work, over-consumption, and exploitation of the planet’s gifts and one another. Is the […]
The story of us
We started out in a living room. A group of friends sorting through the transitions and dilemmas arising in our lives. We’d begin with a few moments of mindfulness to help us attend to each other and find our own thoughts. And then, we’d read a little text or poem that offered a window into […]
Savouring Summer
Isn’t one of the things we love about summer the chance to slow down, take it easy, and read something just for the pure enjoyment of reading? You know, do nothing? I don’t know about you, but I can’t tell you how many times I sabotage any possibility of slowing down by filling my holiday […]
In the midst of summer
Here in the northern hemisphere we are in the midst of summer, and there have been some challenges. The long days have frequently been suffused with smoke from wildfires in Northern Quebec and Ontario. Orange sunrises/sunsets, hazy city streets, the smell of smoke, and concerns for people’s health and for the environment have been key […]