Take Time to Breathe

I am chronically busy.  Relentlessly busy.  Drag my tired butt from work to the grocery store to piano lessons to soccer practice busy.  

With the day job and the kids I have an endless barrage of commitments and obligations, keeping me pulled in multiple directions.  Of course there’s fun in all the craziness, but it’s not terribly conducive to finding time to write the next bestselling novel (see Heather’s blog from yesterday to get some ideas). 

I was hanging by my fingernails at the end of my rope when I finally I realized I needed to take a break.  A quick search for places to retreat led me to the St. Placid Priory, a Benedictine Monastery Retreat House.  Yeah, I really ran away, away. 

The accommodations were not fancy by any stretch.  It was plain. It was simple.  And it was quiet.  Blessedly quiet.  Take a deep breath and try to remember who you are quiet.  It was exactly what I needed.  I was there for no more than a few hours when I did something I have not done in years, something I thought I was incapable of doing.  I took a nap!

After I woke up, I tramped around a bit on the nature trail and started to think about a new series.  Instead of trying to write I found some art supplies in the retreat house and started to draw (another thing I hadn’t done in years) and that got the ideas flowing.  I can’t say I figured it out completely, but by the end of my short stay, the rest and change of pace definitely got the ball rolling.  I returned home excited to get back to writing, something else I hadn’t felt in a while.

So before you are so burnt out you are starting to set off smoke alarms, you might want to consider finding a way to take a break.  I took a chance on a spiritual retreat house, and I glad I did.  It was inexpensive, simple, and exactly the peace and calm I was looking for.

Where is your favorite resting place to retreat?  

Amanda Forester