Week 8, 2021 - And, retreat

When we think of going on a retreat, we tend to think of it as time away - a reprieve from the humdrum of daily activities to rest and re-connect with whatever is important in our belief system, in the hopes of coming back rejuvenated. In our modern world, it carries a flavor of self-indulgence, something that only certain individuals can afford to prioritize at the expense of other people or things that might be deemed more worthy.

But consider the military context, from which perhaps the spiritual initiatives originally drew from, where a retreat is the withdrawl from enemy forces “as a result of their superior power or after a defeat”. In other words, it means to remove yourself from the situation because the game will be over otherwise. A strategic retreat makes possible the option to come back and fight another day, with better chances.

From that perspective, a retreat starts to look like the responsible and obvious move to make, in many more situations than we currently allow ourselves. I’ve been playing with new narratives for “investing in self” and this is my latest iteration.

Addendum: A great addition to this line of thinking from Marion, who points out that upon retreating, it’s important to be as careful as we can about what we take with us. If we take a hostage (or remaining work and other concerns) along with us, it needs to be watched over and cared for!