Re-TREAT with Goddess Leslie

     

We gave ourselves permission.  We took the time to nurture our Inner Children.  We planned a 48 hour reTREAT.  We wrote down a list of things we wanted to accomplish, PLAY, do.  We put in some exercise, yummy food, and of course ART time.  No husbands, no response-abilities.  Just our list, ourselves and doggess-goddess Mandy.

Goddess Leslie picked me up from Laughter Yoga at the Senior Center on Tuesday and we headed for the BEACH.  We dipped and swam and detoxed from the top of our heads down to our feet.  And then we sat on the steps of a walkway and dried off.  We talked and then were silent.  Such a comfortable space to be together.

Goddess Leslie's husband is out of town - we have the house to ourselves - we opened up windows and turned the Air Conditioning off.    We prepped our space with candles & music. We made some Hibiscus Iced Tea a/k/a Karkade.  

We nurtured our bodies with some yummy food.  Using a base of lettuce, red cabbage and carrots, we added apples, lentil beans, cranberries and some walnuts for a delicious salad.  We also pulled out some recipe books and attempted some menu planning.    Another thing completed off our list.

We cleaned up.   And then we entered the garage - Goddess Leslie's ART Studio Extraordinaire. We pulled out paints and brushes.  And put on some smocks.  And then Goddess Leslie presented me with a full sheet of paper.

A little daunting and ominous.  I was up for the challenge.  This was the reason for our Re-TREAT in the first place.  BIG ART!!!  I started to paint - no thinking, just feeling  - colors and shapes and happy!!!  The painting below took me two days to complete.  It made my heart sing. It felt good looking at it and painting it.  No rules, no format - just pick a color and paint.  I even stayed up until 11:00 p.m. (way past my bedtime) to add detail and color and expression.

Completely euphoric from the creation that was occurring, we took out the bicycles at 11:00 p.m. and under a nearly full moon rode around with Doggess-Goddess Mandy in a backpack. With the beautiful evening breeze and the slight sensation of doing something "against the rules" we returned home full of energy.  Before retiring for the morning (12:35 a.m.) we decided what our priorities were for the next day and went to sleep.

The next morning, I sat on the patio and did a yoga routine and was rewarded by the pretty duck that came out to encourage and inspire me.  Goddess Leslie woke up and we took another bike ride right to the swimming pool for a morning swim.  When we returned, we made some yummy fruit shakes with berries and peanut butter and almond milk.  And then right into the Art studio we reTREATED.

This time our music selection had no words  - we chose classical music.  For me, I found that this helped me focus and really connect to that Source from above which flowed through me to the paper.

We set the table for lunch and were joined by Goddess Lisa for a most delicious lunch of another salad creation (this time, we added garbonzo beans and strawberries and pine nuts to our base) and leftover pasta from dinner which we converted into a pasta salad.

Goddess Lisa went to paint while Goddess Leslie and I went upstairs to the bedroom to tackle her closet.  Armed with my computer and list of things to be completed, she tried on clothes and cleaned out her closet while I went through the list and contacted, send emails and tied up a whole bunch of loose ends that were overwhelming Goddess Leslie.  And we got the closet tidied up and a huge pile of clothes ready for GoodWill.

What was truly amazing was the ease and peace between us - women being together, working and producing and sharing and collaborating  - no stress, no pressure, no RESISTANCE - just a spirit of cooperation and understanding that we were moving forward and making things happen.

And though we did not go anywhere, creating space for us to play and disconnect from the Outer World helped us completely replenish.  Spending time together, as women, friends and sisters and doing things that nourished our soul as well as our bodies, even for this brief period of time, was so lovely and beneficial. 

We were flowing so well, I wasn't ready to go home and Goddess Leslie wanted me to stay.  You know what happens when two powerful women put their heads together.  All sorts of havoc is created.

With these two little thoughts put out to the Universe,  the weather turned ferocious.  Massive thunderstorms and a heavy downpour.  Goddess Leslie's husband's flight was delayed.  Her car broke down.  And our play time was extended for another hour.  It gave us time to get an hour of Scrabble played.  And one last thing off our list.  Tee hee!!!