Retreat for Summer Miracles

Indians, we are told, do it more than any other nation. People with religious beliefs do it at least once a year. Captains of industry do it less often. You can do it whenever you like. For centuries, the practice of taking time out to do something different has been recognised as a sure-fire way of recharging your batteries, igniting your enthusiasm and solving problems. In commerce and academia it is sometimes called a sabbatical; others may call it going on retreat.

If you look at something, say an apple, and hold it close to your face so that it is touching your nose you will see a very small part of it. Hold it at arms length and you will see the whole apple and its texture and colours. Look at it from the other end of the room and you won’t see the detail but you will see it in the perspective of its surroundings and in true proportion. It is the same with issues or problems. You add distance and see them from a new angle.

When you put a little distance between yourself and your routine challenges or issues, you see them in a different light and from a different perspective. You may even create a few miracles for yourself as a result. These will come as flashes of intuition that can lead you to take the action needed to resolve a problem.

We could all benefit from this simple procedure. You don’t have to spend a week as a hermit on a mountaintop. Just one day will release amazing benefits and the best part is that it needn’t cost anything. The summer is a great time to do this. Simply set a weekday date in your diary right now, when you will take off to the countryside, the hills or the beach. Go by car, bike, and train or on foot but go to somewhere that you have never been before and where you can be sure of some space alone. Set off early and plan to be out all day. Leave your mobile phone at home and travel light. Then just wander around for the day, thinking of nothing, focusing on the “now” experience.

Many coaching clients of mine are amazed how easy this is. They are “off the leash” and, just by being in a different place, they find that their thoughts turn to solutions and answers rather than problems and challenges. It’s a case that you create in life what you think about. So, make that date in your diary now. Look forward to it, keep it without guilt, enjoy it and return refreshed.

If you do the same thing, in the same way, you will get the same results. Your one-day summer retreat may be the one enjoyable change that you need to create those spectacular “miracle” results that you know you deserve.