THE ARRIVAL #4 ended last friday, june 21. and it was truly magical.
magical yes, but certainly NOT perfect. we had a few shall-we-say surprises:
- two days before the retreat began, my computer crashed and i lost ALL of my files! everything just wiped out. some of it, through a slow and tedious process, has been restored by my patient and kind husband. (sadly, however, some of it appears to be lost forever.)
- mr. smith, an indoor cat, escaped from the villa four times during the retreat – once when we weren’t even aware of it. (he was happily exploring the secret garden when we finally found him!)
- we missed our booked morning train to cinque terre by seconds! (to our credit, it DID leave early according to our cell phones.)
- a beer was knocked over onto one guest’s lap while dining out. (and she wasn’t able to change her clothes for hours!)
- the lid to the blender flew off while eric was making his lovely squash soup, and the bright orange liquid went all over the white kitchen wall. (luckily it’s tile.) it also went down inside the power strip that houses the transformer that converts our u.s. appliances to european voltage. (this little sequence of events caused our electricity to go off!)
- villa magnolia’s boiler broke, and we had NO hot water at all for over 24 hours! (the first time this has ever happened since we moved here almost three years ago.)
on and on and on . . . things were not flowing as smoothly as they could have. but you know what?!
NONE of this mattered. we still had THE BEST TIME! the retreat was deep and light, candid and insightful, real life and holiday – all mixed up together. we ate fabulous food, we explored italy and our emotions, and we laughed. a lot.
during the group sessions, we discussed the power of choosing our own responses when confronted with not-so-perfect things. the four young women who attended had a few chances to practice that last week. (and i promise – i didn’t set these tests up on purpose!) they all chose with grace and humor and kindness, displaying what exceptional human beings they are.
we experienced miscommunications, apologies, delays, and frustration. risking in a safe environment. exciting breakthroughs and pure joy. we shared significant life events and unique individual circumstances at our different points along the timeline, learning from each other. i was personally able to gain insight from a fresher, much younger, perspective.
we also experienced a full moon, fireflies, and the summer solstice!
no, not all was perfect. but it was a truly magical week at villa magnolia nonetheless. and i am basking in the goodness.
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[surprise! i’m back in your inbox a week earlier than planned. when will i show up again? i guess when i have something important to share, like i did today.]
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