I had an opportunity to take some time off work lately and take a true vacation.
By “true” I mean without check-ins, emails, or any type of “light” work.
What I would call a “Free Day”. (If you aren’t familiar with that term, then check out Dan Sullivan with Strategic Coach.)
For those of you that own your own business or are in some type of leadership role, you know what I’m talking about. True Free Days are so challenging to protect, but are crucial to the lifeblood of our productivity, ability to create, and ultimately our happiness.
But I digress, and back to the topic of Costa Rica. So here I am. A complete workaholic, about to spend some time in the isolated mountains and jungles of southern Costa Rica.
I spent my time at a place that was highly recommended to me and I booked without a second thought.
Upon arrival, the retreat ended up having only cold shower water, compost toilets, and was four hours away from the nearest town accessed on a rough dirt road. There was a common area from our bungalows that offered internet and power was intermittent as it was off-grid.
For some of you this sounds terrible, for some of you this sounds like heaven. As a mountain gal from Crested Butte, this was all just fine and was much like a Costa Rican Glamping adventure.
I will share that the noise of the jungle was intense. When I say intense, think of the city-noise background music but imagine all those loud car horns, people, and city noise and turn them into talking toucan birds, screaming howler monkeys and many other animals that I had yet to identify.
So what did I do during these two weeks of off-the-grid jungle isolation? I meditated. A lot. And for real. I ate a Vegan diet. It wasn’t optional. I wasn’t stoked. But it happened. My body was thankful.
I slowed down. I connected with other retreat-goers. I truly heard them, their story and where they were in life. I listened to why they were here. Which quite frankly is the middle of nowhere. I learned what work they wanted to complete prior to returning to their “normal” life.
I purposely stayed fairly disconnected from my electronic devices. I listened to others share their stories, I listened to the jungle and then I eventually was able to listen to myself.
The world we live in moves at a rapid pace, it is quick to change. If we don’t have our own center, then it can feel like it is moving without us.
Funny enough, by slowing down my mind, I was able to feel reconnected with this fast-paced world. I came back recharged and fully ready to come back, and with purpose.
This was my experience, and I would love to know what places you travel to that have this impact for you. Thanks for joining today and I look forward to connecting with you tomorrow.
~Heather
