Pulling Back to Move Forward

The medicine of retreat

I just emerged from the nourishing enclosure of a writing retreat in the Scottish Highlands. I facilitate this retreat annually, and this year, I knew it needed to be post-election. It was a wise decision. When the “one who shall not be named” was elected, I felt a sense of despair and scrambled to pitch articles and build grassroots efforts. But I could only lose myself in panic for so long because two days later, I was off. Disconnecting from the relentless, anxiety-provoking news cycle and fortifying my connection with Earth and community was necessary, and deeply healing. To be out in the unending virtual landscape of media when we're wounded is a dangerous place to be. So I went inward, into a safe space like any other wounded animal would, to rehabilitate and regroup.

A retreat, intentional time and space to pull back, tune in, reflect, and remerge with a new perspective, is much different from an escape. While traveling to a serene location like the Scottish Highlands can be beneficial, a quiet, tech-free corner of room or a sit-spot outdoors can also become sanctuary. It can be more challenging to break the spell of depleting habits in our everyday environment but a retreat doesn’t have to be anywhere but home. Sometimes retreat is a regular walk in nearby woodlands where the incessant noise of cellphones can’t reach us.

In the retreats I curate, I do my best to share practices and experiences that can be integrated into our everyday lives. Most people arrive as a group of strangers but soon, with intentional space to unplug and be seen and heard for who we are, we become family. 

After everyone settles in, we gather in circle to introduce ourselves to the land and each other and share what led us to be there. Often, it is our wounds that draw us together and through telling our stories and listening to each other, we find aspects of ourselves in others, and of others in ourselves. Together, we create space for thoughtful revisions so we can locate our voice and rewrite inner narratives that may be harmful or untrue. As author, mythologist and storyteller Martin Shaw writes, “Bad storytellers make spells. Great storytellers break them.”  

As we immersed ourselves in the beauty of the Scottish Highlands — mist-shrouded mountains, magical hawthorn trees, and ancient lochs — we felt a deep connection to the land and her lore. With the help of my friend and retreat collaborator Àdhamh Ó Broin who often describes his work as ‘cultural rewilding,’ some of us delved deeper into our Gaelic roots, exploring concepts like dùthchas, part of a worldview that stresses a deep, inherited connection to the land, weaving together cultural identity, ecological responsibility and a sense of belonging. In traditional Gaelic culture, like many Indigenous cultures, there is no sense of separation between people and Earth. Like mycelial networks that bind a forest community together, we, too, are part of a vast and intricate web of life.

Today, back in Western MA, I feel deeply grateful just to be. To feel the sun on my skin, to hear birds call, to be with loved ones, to feel grounded and fortified enough to seek a different way. I realize fighting against those who crave power at the expense of others and the environment, and who seem to lack any empathy is a futile endeavor. Like my boxing coach would always remind me: “move in the path of least resistance.”

So instead of fighting head on, I’ll be putting my energy into planting seeds (literally and figuratively) while building and collaborating with communities of care and resilience. And of course, I’ll find my sit spot and go into the woods for regular retreat.

While grassroots movements rise from the ground up, they also emerge from within.

How are are retreating or restoring yourself while standing for social and environmental justice? How do you find balance?

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A RECENT INTERVIEW, AN UPCOMING EVENT, AND AN ONLINE COURSE:

INTERVIEW FOR ORION MAGAZINE:
I have been a fan of Orion Magazine for years so it was an honor to be interviewed by

Erica Berry

, author of Wolfish for Orion:
EARTHLY BODIES interview with Erica Berry

EVENT THIS WEEKEND:
I’ll be at the Miami Book Fair this weekend in conversation with Brandom Keim, author of Meet The Neighbors. If you’re in Miami, I hope you’ll join us: https://www.miamibookfair.com/event/animal-nature-human-hearts-nonfiction/

WRITING FOR THE WILD:
I recently finished the first series of Writing For The Wild in partnership with Project Coyote. It was deeply moving and the writing that emerged was incredible. I’ll be offering this course again in January. Here are the details: https://www.vanessachakour.com/writing-for-the-wild

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