This is an unhurried walk among the trees, beside the water, and under a wide sky, the way one walks with nowhere to be and everything to see. The word saunter carries the old idea of walking toward the holy land. The holy land, it turns out, is right underfoot.

 

On this retreat, nature is the spiritual director. The winter woods are patient teachers and better listeners than most. None of them rush anyone or try to fix anyone. They simply hold, and in that holding, something begins to heal. The healing power of nature is ancient and real, and it asks only that a person shows up.

 

The retreat is rooted in Celtic Christian spirituality, which saw no wall between the holy and the ordinary. The Celtic tradition saw a world shimmering with presence, in stone and stream, in tree and weather, and taught that awakening to that presence is most of what the spiritual life asks of us.

 

Imagination is the voice of the soul and the unconscious. Through gentle, guided practices, participants use their imagination to hear that voice as it speaks through the voice of creation: in bark and stone, moving water, light coming down through the leaves, the turning of the clouds. Creation often has more to say than expected.

 

The day opens and closes in the Circle Way, a simple practice of sitting together and listening well. Under open sky, a circle has a way of turning strangers into community. That community includes each other and the whole more-than-human world, from the tiniest wildflower to the tallest tree.

 

Note: A simple lunch of soup & bread will be provided. We will eat lunch inside and gather inside for reflection. The event will happen regardless of the weather. If the weather is inclement, we will take shorter walks and have more reflection time inside. Wear shoes for walking and clothing appropriate for the day. Bring a journal and pen.