Back from a very nice place

When I say that I'm back from a very nice place, I mean both in a physical sense and an emotional and spiritual one. Cliff and I went to Othona for a week's break immediately after school finished. What a great way to come down form the stress of the last term of school, and most especially the last three weeks. For me, the time there has allowed me to recharge my batteries and to find my direction for the next month or so (and perhaps longer!).



I managed some time on my writing as well. As there was no Internet connection (except in a small corner of the quiet room) all of my writing was focused on my novel. I started by rereading the first 5 and a half chapters. I hadn't worked on the novel for about three weeks and so I had lost track of the characters. I wrote the rest of the chapter 5 and I'm into chapter 6. Now I'm started again, I must make sure that I keep up the momentum because I would like to finish my first draft by the end of my holidays.

I had forgotten what it was like to be somewhere where there is very little noise. For the majority of the time, you couldn't hear the traffic from the road, there were no radios, television sets or CD players available except for special occasions, though we could have had a radio or CD player in our room if we had wanted to. The house was often completely silent. When there was noise, it was often the sound of voices involved in talk or discussion. There were also some who sang. I have come to realize how important silence (or an environment with less noise) is. Often times, I leave the radio or television on to have some noise in the background. I wonder why I do that when I feel so much better without it. I suppose it's a habit, one I would like to break.

Othona

Cliff and I have just come back from our second visit to Othona down on the Dorset coast near Bridport. We first visited last October, and came home knowing that we had to go back. Did I talk about Othona back in October?

Our first encounter with Othona was back in the the early 90's. We were visiting my sister who lived in the Southend area at the time. We decided to go for a Sunday drive out to the Essex coast and ended up visiting a seventh century church, St. Peter's-on-the- Wall. After visiting the chapel, we walked along the beach and came upon the Bradwell Othona. We were invited in for tea and biscuits. I thought then that one day we would make it back there. We didn't but last September when I was looking for a retreat I did come across the Othona in Dorset at Burton Bradstock. If you're wondering, Othona is an open Christian community. At Burton Bradstock, they offer courses and retreats throughout the year. In October we went to the 'Teacher Chill Out' retreat. This last weekend we went to an Easter retreat.

So what's so special about Othona? I imagine that it is different for each person. For me, Othona provides the opportunity to be part of a community. This is so important. I hadn't realized how much I needed to be around people, to share meals, simple tasks, conversation and more. While at Othona, I'm also away from the distractions of life and can do whatever takes my fancy - meditating, reading, walking, writing, craft making. There's also the spiritual side of life and I don't want that to sound like an after thought. It's really the starting point of everything. I have needed to kick start my spiritual life and Othona has provided that initial spark. And finally, it's just a great place to be!

Sorry that it's been so long!

I've just been back a few days from a trip to the Dorset coast and a stay at a retreat. It was a time for rest and meditation and I do feel changed by it. It allowed me to think about various things without the distractions of modern life - television, radio, papers, the ringing of the phone and the temptation to shop! Instead they were replaced by conversation, meditation (or just time to allow thoughts to ramble), walks, a little writing and simple activities done as part of a community. Cliff even started to play guitar which he hasn't done for a very long time.

It felt both as if we had been there forever and that the time was going too quickly. I started there wondering what I would do, realized that I didn't have to do anything (other than the simple activities) and left feeling that I had lost something very important. It was something that I knew I couldn't recapture back in my regular life. However, I did find a direction for life in Surrey. It will take discipline and time to get there but I'm going to try. More of this later!