You have one “job” in this mini-retreat, and that job is to allow your inner child the freedom to pick what she wants. You can be the facilitator, but you’re not in charge. You can gather up the supplies—the crayons or pencils, the chalk, the hula hoop—and provide a space in which she can play—a cleared-off kitchen table, a backyard, a park—and leave your rules, focus on outcomes, and concern about time at the door.
The heart of radical self-acceptance is choice: you can choose which messages to believe—those from your inner saboteur, or new ones that you will write for yourself. When you practice radical self-acceptance, you’ll discover a realistic understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and an awareness of your values and your needs.
How can you best benefit from a mini-retreat during your busy day? The best way to boost your time-out is to be purposeful, to set an intention that gets at the heart of what you need. This week we will take a mental vacation by engaging our sense of sight and allowing our minds to rest and relax.
Mealtime is a perfect opportunity to take an essential, everyday activity and use it for your 20-minute retreat. Your retreat time is when you let go of outside distractions and put the focus on yourself. It’s a time for you to slow down and get in touch with your body, feelings, and intuition.
A 20-minute mini-retreat at lets you reconnect with yourself, reset your nervous system, and free your mind from its incessant chatter. When you’re in right relationship with yourself, you can bring your best self to all your relationships.
Let today be a day to savor the darkness as a time for personal reflection and contemplation. Maybe you will discover a new practice that you can feed and nourish now, one you will carry with you into the longer days and new growth of spring.
