retreat

I went away on the weekend, on a Women’s Retreat with the church. We were up at Mt Tamborine, and stayed overnight at Cedar Creek Lodges. Started with a morning tea at the Botanic Gardens..

A bridge to possibility?

Gateway to hope?

Had a quick gallop along Gallery Walk..

This was beautiful… something that “fills me up” is just browsing amongst gorgeous, creative, sparkly bits and bobs – things others have crafted to show beauty in the world..

Fairy mushrooms 🙂

Then we went for lunch at the place where we stayed. Meals were a selection of buffets – more food than I’ve eaten for a while at each meal, and very enjoyable 😀

It was wet and gloomy when we first got there..

It cleared up eventually, though.. a bit muddy on the Saturday, but a clear, crisp, blue-sky day on Sunday.

The cottages were small but lovely – just the place to sit by the fire and chat..

One of the main joys of going away with a group is that you get to know people a bit better than you can otherwise – youcan sit by a fire, with no other obligations for a short space of time, and just talk. It’s good to get to know people a bit more than the “Hi how are you” sort of thing. The afternoon was spent getting to know a bunch of beautiful women a bit better…

There were games later, and more chatting. And chocolate fondue.
There was a creek flowing right outside the cottage..

The view from the verandah.

It was a constant sound, like rain, but not quite. Soothing, gentle, whispering, relaxing. I came back after the evening activities, exhausted, and was lulled to sleep by the creek flowing past. I have not slept so soundly and completely for a long time – there was chatting and other sounds during the night, but I only vaguely remember.

This is where we had the church service in the morning – out in the open, surrounded by nature. It was the perfect end to the weekend’s activities. Talked some more… went off for more shopping… went home..

I did have a restful retreat. The shopping was fun, but also a chance to remember the “me” of twenty years ago, and how I would have seen things then, as compared to the “me” of now, and how far I’ve come in my perceptions and beliefs 🙂 The sleep was wonderful – I hadn’t realised how overtired I was. I have been randomly snoozing all week, so it was obviously a need that I hadn’t taken the time to consider – the break from the everyday meant I had to look at it. This week has been a week of sleep and refocusing. Terribly indulgent, really, but I feel that I at last have a handle on some changes that need to be made. Sometimes stepping out of the everyday makes some things clearer.