Retreat Yourself 2007

Although the facility and the food at Retreat Yourself 2007 were undeniably amazing, it was the experience of meeting such special people and learning so many valuable things that offered me the greatest gifts.


From my fellow retreaters I learned a great deal about strength, courage, and perserverance. I met people who were told they were going to die and defied their odds. I met someone who was told he only had a 1% chance of ever having children again, and had 2 children since. I met someone who was able to shrink tumors using alternative medicinal practises. I met someone who went through divorce and death of a sibling during treatment for cancer. The stories of perserverance were enough to inspire anyone to fight through the toughest times in life. These people humbled me, gave me courage, and opened my mind to new ways of coping and thinking about life.


From the professionals at the camp I learned a number of excellent coping mechanisms. They taught me methods of relaxation and mindfulness through yoga and meditation practises. They taught me ways of being proactive with my health and how to be an advocate for my own health. They opened my eyes to new resources available to me.


By the end of the weekend I felt completely relaxed and rejuvinated. I felt like the weekend had given me the opportunity to spend ALL of my time focusing on myself and on my health. There were no outside distractions and all our worries were left at home. It was as though we spent the weekend in a world of our own--just our tight little niche of people, who all had to endure similar trials and tribulations in this game called life. It created a sort of inner peacefulness that is difficult to describe in words.


By Sunday, we were all sad that this would be our last day at Camp Maromac. We had all formed lifelong friends who we would now have to part with. We would have to leave the extreme comfort of being surrounded by people who understood. We would have to leave our little paradise and return to the real world--and face all the stressors and problems we had left behind at the beginning of the weekend. I also felt as though returning home would be a major test--could I bring myself to continue with the ways of thinking and coping I had been taught over the weekend? Would I be disciplined enough to continue on with meditation? I felt that if I could, I could likely be a changed person in many ways down the road.