I dream quite frequently these days — perhaps the most of owning a place of retreat someday soon, a place somewhere hidden in the forest, yet easy to find. I think it would be slightly reminiscent of a summer camp in nature, where humans looking for something, anything, could come for either solitary retreat or workshops.
I believe I would make this to be a space for hosting writers, makers, explorers, and people who crave a specific place intended for prayer and spiritual practice. I'd do my very best to lead but would also let my sweet visitors lead with their own strengths if they so desired.
I would cultivate a large garden, full of hydrangeas and greenery and any sort of flower I could manage to grow under the sun. I'm still learning how to take care of plants but I think by the time this place is established, I could nurture a garden. I would invite my visitors, my newfound friends, to enter the gate and forage bouquets of garden-grown blooms. They could dry them to preserve their beauty or perhaps give a flower to a stranger when they've left and gone back to the real world.
Inside the retreat building itself, I can imagine floral installations brimming from all the nooks and crannies. I would invite visitors to create work while there and leave pieces behind, displayed on the white walls for future guests to be inspired by. In time, the building would be a collective space that gifts an inner look into the sweet souls of those who'd been there before.
For meals, I would ask my new friends to join in cooking together. We would eat what our hands had prepared at the same long, wooden table. After dining, we'd clean up while listening a playlist of joyful tunes and then retreat outside under the stars for campfires and wine or whiskey, and hop straight to the meaningful conversations to know each other's sweet hearts better. I think we'd be comfortable enough with each other for that to happen.
I think this could be a place where creative community could be established and cultivated, away from the darkness that seems to circle the world these days. I've been dreaming of this place for months now. I don't know where it will be or how I'll make it happen, but I wholeheartedly believe it's a soul whisper. Someday you'll all be invited to join me there, I can feel it resonating deep into my bones. This place of retreat is going to come to fruition and I am overcome by desire to make it happen for you and for us as a sweet creative collective.
Love, what is your dream? Your soul whisper? Let it root, let it grow. Let me know how I can encourage you and help you cultivate it. I think we each have our One Idea that carries a spark of beautiful potential to serve this world, and it deserves to be brought to fruition. I cannot wait to see how beautifully yours grows.
Rooting for you, always.
Kate.
