There’s something about a road trip that’s freeing and enlightening. Just the thought of it brings feelings of escape to the surface. It could be that it represents leaving one realm and moving on to another. Road trips almost always include some sense of widening and narrowing – depending on where you start and where you end. If you are leaving the city then the roads and vast landscapes widen and broaden but if you are leaving the country then the roads will narrow and tighten. I suppose, like life, it brings to you what you need.
A recent road trip to Ojai, California brought the widening and the broadening into plain view, tangible in my mind’s eye. The narrowing and congesting traffic of the city slowly started to leave and the vast landscapes and freeways started to widen and broaden for my viewing and spatial pleasure. As the freeways opened up and the traffic lessened, the sense of freedom and newness started to flutter around like butterflies in flight. The various shades of green painted beautifully along the corridors of the trip until the pavement lead to a sign that read “Ojai City Limits”.
The greenery was in abundance and closely knit. The trees reached over to each other beckoning sweet romance across the sometimes winding roads.
The rush of the city was gone. It would lead to a private estate which will hold an Artemis Retreat on the weekend of August 21st – 23rd.
The gate at the entrance slowly opened and the “Ah Moment” started to tease. It quickly became one of those places you don’t want to leave, or if you must, then you wish it were a place you wish you could close your eyes and arrive at within seconds.
The walk around the land and the house brought feelings of oneness with mother earth and a deep sense of connection with self. It was filled with so much potential for sweet liberation from the norm. Thick lush trees, wide open spaces, breathtaking views, dried leaves that make music while you walk and the sounds of nature in all its glory provide a safe place to breathe deeply and exhale intentionally. The retreat will dish up many aspects of healing in this sacred place where the Chumash Indians left their essence to rise and remain forever. As the pottery lined the inside of the house on shelves and old antique furniture stood their beautiful ground, the wooden structure opened many doors that lead to different room décor that will delight and simplify the need for more. It made sense. It would all tie together. The private estate will be ready to embrace and balance the energies that the guests will bring. Time had slipped by – hours. Taking photos and videos and listening to acoustic beauty in the yoga room felt like a mini retreat all of its own.
This is what road trips do for you. If you can manage to detach from your messages, phone calls, emails, social media and the like, then a road trip is somewhat like a mini retreat. It serves you well if you are truly present. It lifts your spirit if you truly leave your port of embarkation.
After all, as they say, life is not purely about the destination, so much as it is about the journey.
To register for our Aug 21-23 retreat, please visit our retreat page here.