What is a Retreat?

In its simplest form ‘Retreat’, means ‘to withdraw, to drawback.’ Throughout the ages, people have understood Retreat to be an important part of life formation and transformation.  That is, time consciously set aside for self, a change of focus, a deliberate act of stepping outside of normal routine by withdrawing (not running away) from the noise and pressures; the immediate and insistent claims of our social, domestic, and workaday responsibilities in order to be in a quiet place where all our senses are open and ready to listen to nature and its truths.
The greatest benefit of retreat is that it gives fresh ways of seeing; opens new possibilities, enabling ‘familiarity to no longer breed contempt’. Perspective gives the ability to see a situation objectively, stepping back to gain a bigger view like seeing a circus parade from an upstairs window rather than through a hole in the fence at ground level. It is to see things as others do; and especially as Nature sees it!