and so it goes.. pilgrimage

It’s been a few weeks since I wrote a newsletter and I have missed both the practice of writing and the community. How has the summer been? Maybe a smorgasbord of experiences in these crazy times. Hopefully still including a little solace with peace in the lining.

I’m on a pilgrimage. This time without a backpack but rather a car. My dear car that I have not driven for a long time. A car I call Charlie and whose license plate is JSTBKIND. I forgot how therapeutic a long road trip alone can be. With a rhythm of driving through ever changing landscape, many of life's challenging riddles can have the space they need to resolve or dissolve.

Most of my pilgrimages are on foot, where the weight you carry will make or break your experience. Two pants, two tops, two pairs of underwear, socks, one lightweight jacket, rain gear, minimal toiletries and a phone. Now in the luxury of a car, I took everything and anything that make me happy. So beyond the basics there are beads and supplies for mala making, a beautiful small prayer rug I was given by a darling friend, my meditation cushion, offerings for sacred reciprocity, enough food for a 3 day drive, dharma talks, meditations and music of every genre. I feel like a perfectly content turtle, completely self contained.

This is a pilgrimage to my birthplace, beautiful Nova Scotia and the raw Atlantic Ocean that lives deep in my bones but I rarely visit. With love and curiosity, I'll explore whether there are what is needed for a Mindful Necessities retreat here. If, of course, the stars align in that direction. There will have to be the right place to house us, the right facilitators to support our aim, right access to nature and delicious sustenance to nurture. The rest can be brought to the container.

Although, the main focus of this trip was to retreat from life's clammer and restore my well that was running low. Like so many of us these days, we have had many changes to life in general that demand our full attention and keep us on our toes. Learning how to move around and be in the world safely and keep others safe is already big. Even for those who found a groove in the changing times, it’s still easy to miss when our own cup empties.

Do you check within on this? Beyond whether work is okay, family is okay, community is okay, kids are okay, relationship is okay.. am I okay? Deeply, wholly, okay? It is okay to be not okay. Sometimes even acknowledging that there is an imbalance sparks a path to balance. Do you have a way of scanning your energy of what is abundant or depleted? For me, space, nature, deep breathing and clean eating will bring about the right questions and the road to restoration.

I remember a conversation I had with a father who was taking his twins to university. They did a road trip together, taking a month to make it to school. I asked him what advise he sent them off on a new chapter in their life with. He said "Never be afraid to stray off the path. You'll find your way back again, and probably with jewels you would have missed otherwise."

So I send you buckets of good energy from this magical rustic land that is restoring my cells and spirit every day. Both journeys to Ireland and Italy started off as a personal retreat to ground, centre and rejuvenate vitality. The retreats we now have in both these special places on earth excite me to share again, starting in 2022. Who knows.. Nova Scotia?

In case you hadn't noticed, our online orders will be shipped after Sept 15th. I can however still make and ship the essential oil diffusing wrist malas or the special edition gems from my travels. ;-) For other inquiries, feel free to email me, and thank you for your grace and patience. https://www.mindfulnecessities.com/collections/malas

Love to you, with a lotus and a smile,

Gisele