Retreat to move forward

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -Joseph Campbell

Pond_lily_pads1My two daughters went quiet as we turned off the highway onto a gravel road.

Suddenly, we were somewhere else altogether, even though just 20 minutes from home. The car bumped as we rode a road that embodied the curves of the land rather than paved them over flat, mountains and mist in front of us, green like rain brings around us. We slowed to read the sign, “Bend of Ivy Lodge,” then continued.

Imagine 63 acres of quiet serenity down a gravel road, a beautifully restored barn, sleeping rooms that showcase art from around the world and create community, gorgeous wooden beams—add family-style organic vegetarian meals on the porch, sitting areas by the pond and in the covered pavilion, interesting fellow travelers, and a remarkable gathering space. You’ll leave TV and email far behind here.

Meeting_space_1Come sit in these chairs in this light and join our first 37days retreat (November 10-12, near Asheville, NC) called MIND THE GAP: The power of personal stories.

It’s a good place to contemplate our 37 days, don’t you think? Come join us if you can. It might just be magical.

About Patti Digh

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics. Her work over the last three decades has focused on diversity, inclusion, social justice, and living and working mindfully. She has developed diversity strategies and educational programming for major nonprofit and corporate organizations and has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences.

10 comments to " Retreat to move forward "
  • Patti, this retreat looks absolutely fantastic. I only wish I was able to attend but being from New Zealand creates a bit of an obstacle! I hope it is a huge success for you and I also hope you write about it. I find your writing and your work incredibly inspiring. Thank you for sharing with us all.
    Take care, Marica

  • Marica – well, then, we’ll just have to come to New Zealand for the next one! Thanks for your very, very kind words – perhaps New Zealand in 2007! It’s one of my favorite places in the world…

  • Hey, do you realize that Asheville is where F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote most of “Tender is the Night?” I wish I could go, but I am teaching those days… :-(

  • Katnuk – Two words: Play Hooky. ;-)

    Asheville and the surrounding area has a marvelous literary and artistic and intellectual history, up here in the hills and all – not only Scottie, but Thomas Wolfe, O. Henry – buried less than a mile from where I sit typing this – Carl Sandburg, and at Black Mountain College near here, Buckminster Fuller created his first geodesic dome, in the company of folks like Josef Albers, Albert Einstein, John Dewey, Thornton Wilder, Henry Miller, and – I’m sure – some pretty bright women as well, though evidently their press agents haven’t done such a great job of getting them into the history books. So, it’s a fine place to come and sit and think. Good things come of that.

    Wish you could join us! Remember…two words… ;-)

  • Joy K.

    I have no doubt that your retreat will be magical and with you as the leader, a transformational experience rather than a transactional one. (Your inspirational quote came back to me.) Best wishes!

  • Oh, I so wish I could. :( My daughter is still too young for me to leave her for longer than a few hours. But I am sure it will be amazing and magical for the people who DO attend. And thank you for the Joseph Campbell quote. I actually shivered with some unexamined emotion when I read it.

  • Mardougrrl – Be with your daughter that weekend where you should be, and perhaps another time, you can join us! I hope so…

  • Joy K – your notes are always so inspiring and wonderful for me – thank you!

  • Oh my! Be careful what I wish for is RIGHT! I am thinking up every possible way I can attend. I’m up in the beautiful okanagan valley in B.C., but I’m not in New Zealand! Mmmmm. I can only imagine how amazing those few days will be. I am going to tell EVERYONE I know.
    yum.

  • Patti: what a fantabulous experience this promises to be: if you’ve still got a space, absolutely count me in! And m-s, I’ll hope to meet you there – roughly halfway between our worlds…. I’ll bring wine from my Italian home to share if you’ll pack a few bottles from the Okanagan! Already counting the days! Cheers, Viaggiatore

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