Creek Running North

For some reason, and it maybe thinking about the hard, discplined, daily tasks and effort she is undertaking, or the simplicity and beauty of it in contrast to our way of life that is so out of balance, i am reminded of Dickens? Paraphrasing of course:

“It is a far, far better thing that you do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that you go to in the evening than I know now.

dear kat—

i’ve gotten to know just some of your writing, lurking around CRN.  glad to hear from chris that there is coffee!

the idea of really taking time off—spending time in contemplation, being away from everyday distractions—seems very appealing.  i don’t know the reasons you chose this time or this place, or even what you are doing exactly, but retreating to a quiet place for a time is a very inviting prospect.  perhaps in the future, if you are willing to share, we can hear all about it.  i’d be very grateful.

i’m not a religious person.  in junior high, before i came to the conclusion that i couldn’t honestly believe the parts of my childhood church that required faith alone, i attended 2 weekend retreats at an espiscopalian convent in santa barbara.  [yeah, who’da thunk?]

the convent was very close to the santa barbara mission, the botanical gardens, and the natural history museum, and there was a little creek and open space nearby.  it was really a little bit of heaven on earth.  there was structured time, but also many hours when we could just explore.  [this was in the early ‘70’s, and so long as we had someone with us and got back on time, we were encouraged to hike and look around.]

the nuns were really very cool!  we couldn’t help but admire their dedication and calm, their senses of humor, and how really caring they were.  we had silent breakfasts, which presented the ultimate challenge to a bunch of silly young teen girls—we did get silenced a few times, but apparently giggles are not too far out of bounds, since the nuns were seen smiling, too.  from some of the guest rooms, it was easy to climb out on part of the roof [something that gives me heart palpitations as a parent, but was gloriously exciting at the time]—the nuns calmly shooed us back in. they must have realized how much candy and junk food we smuggled in our bags, but not a word was said.

the nuns sought out times to just chat with us young kids, and shared some stories from their lives.  it was really an unusual experience, spending this time with caring, non-judgmental people who were not part of our daily world.  for a junior high student, that was huge.

also huge was what we got to see and do, more or less on our own.  the mission [santa barbara is “the queen of the missions"] offered majesty and history and gardens.  i loved the natural history museum [intimate, but so much to see and learn!] and the botanical gardens [i think this was my first formal introduction to plants, where i could learn what they were and see what many plants looked like up close].

this is a rambling explanation of why a retreat sounds attractive, and why writing about plants and nature is interesting to me, even though i’m not the most nature-oriented person in the world.

i hope your retreat brings peace, new experiences, and a chance just to think and exist outside the hubbub.

take care,
kathy

i hope my post didn’t come off too goofy.  what you are doing now is an amazing thing.  and me, i’m just free-associating, so feel free to ignore.

not at all, kathy.