Adventure and Quietude
"Not all who wander are lost." - J.R.R. Tolkien. Last month I had a little adventure followed by time at a retreat centre, and it felt to me like the perfect balance. I love my life, am grateful for what I have, yet still I get so energised by being in new places and stepping outside of the everyday ordinary routines. There's something about a trip away that opens me up to all the wonder and joy of our world and increases my ability to think in new ways about how to live my life and spend my time. Driving north to the centre, I took a couple of nights to stay in a town I've never stayed in before and then in a city to visit with friends. The weather made driving on the first day pretty scary, with rain coming down so hard I had to pull over, but I made it in one piece and filled my cup with new views and old friends. Then on to Hobbiton, which I loved, and then to Sudarshanaloka, where I had five nights in a forest cabin in delightful solitude. Driving up to the ...