A Clearing in the Woods
When a friend invited me to a writing retreat in the woods of Pennsylvania at the
Highlights Foundation, I had more reasons than fingers for why I couldn’t join her:
my schedule, the dog, my deadlines...But those were the exact reasons why I
needed to leave home for the quiet of the woods.
I filled a large suitcase, 1 tote bag, a Sonos speaker ( I cannot live without my
music), and a cooler and I was off, not quite guilt free, but happily on my way. I
prayed I wouldn’t spend the entire time catching up on sleep, or the news, so I
immediately laid out the research books I needed to tackle for my upcoming new
project. I arranged myself by the window, put on my slippers, poured a cup of tea
and I was off. The quiet of the day cleared my head and while I stared out of the
window at the woods beyond and the ideas that seemed so impossibly far away
at my own home desk, now flowed easily onto page after scribbled page. I read
for hours. I started each day with meditative writing. I stretched. I journaled
before going to sleep. I wrote two speeches I’d been putting off. And I tore
through the research I’d been struggling with.
It could have been the three deliciously prepared meals served each day that
were not planned, shopped for or prepared by me. It could have been the limited
wi-fi. Perhaps it was the absence of a television, stove, washer/dryer and
vacuum, and all of the other domestic responsibilities disproportionately placed
on women that drain us of our creative resources. Now, instead of writing and
working during the in-between times, my day in my own private cabin, was all my
own.
When it came time to leave, I was ready. My time away revealed what I suspect I
already knew. That not enough time was spent on feeding my creative self. I had
at least a ride home to contemplate the many ways I would need to carve out at
home, if not a clearing in the woods, a clearing of my own to find the space to
think and write and create. At least until I can get away again to another cabin in
the woos…
