When people asked me about how my jungle retreat went, I was usually reluctant to answer. You see, when you go on holiday, you usually go to see some stuff, to party, to have fun. And then it’s really easy to tell people how it was. “We went to see this cool *monument*, and then we went to this bar, and we met so-and-so, and then John got wasted…” I love sightseeing, traveling and partying, but that’s not how this retreat was at all.
For the 6 days there, I didn’t really go anywhere. I didn’t meet anyone. I didn’t “do” anything. The plan was quite simple, spend a bunch of time alone with myself, and see what happens. Of course I had some intentions and ideas I wanted to think about deeply, but I know that it might take me to some completely different way. 💭
So you see in my case, “how did the jungle retreat go” could be paraphrased into “what are your latest conclusions about your life and where you’re going?”. Now that’s a very personal question. A difficult question. So hopefully you can understand the reluctance now.
Anyway, writing is my safe space. I get to control the words, the structure, the depth. The tone, the emotions…It’s my world, I love it, and I feel safe, playful, content. And when I feel safe, I do like to share. So let me tell you a few things that I can about the retreat.
For the first three days, I just slept like 12+ hours a day. I’d wake up around 6-7am, have a nap after lunch at 12, and then hit the bed at 10PM or so. My room was very dark. I spent most of the days outside on air, and very little screen time. The natural rhythms of waking up and sleeping with the sun was such a blessing, it’s insane. Even if I just got to experience that for a few days it would be totally worth it.
Every night after dinner, I spent about 2h scrolling through my 5 year history on google photos (god bless that app btw). To discover whether I’m on the right path, it made sense to check the past. And to try to remember how I was back then, what I was thinking, who I was spending time with, what were my wishes for the future. The trip down the memory lane was intense, got me thinking, got me happy and sad… I wished I had more than 5 years of photos on google. I have some hard drives back in my house in Slovenia that date another 5 or 7 years back, I will make sure to upload all that to the cloud for the next time.
Every morning, I walked a little bit and then I read a business book. In the few days I finished a thick, relatively hard science book about a new way of management, a new organizational power structure. It’s the type of dry book that is difficult to read for more than 1h straight. With no distractions, I managed to read it for about 4h a day, pretty much from breakfast to lunch. The ideas in that book, despite its dryness, changed a lot. I feel fire. I see new opportunities. I see radical new ways of empowering my team. I just need to figure out how to roll it out without looking like a crazy mad scientist. 🤓
During the afternoons, it was kinda free for all. I napped a lot in the first days. I learned how to ride a horse. It’s actually not difficult – if you get a trained horse. I expected a whole lesson, some psychology of the horse, the commands. But the guy just looked at me, showed me my horse, gestured me to get on and said “pues vamonos”. It was pretty fun, I was amazed at riding. It’s really cool, but a horse is not a car. They wanna do their own thing if you don’t direct them. And there was this one time where we crossed a river, and the horse tripped. I ended up in the water to waist level LOL. But all good fun.
And just after the google pics scrolling, I read a fantasy book. It was a book about a clumsy, good-for-nothing princess who turns into a dragon-slaying sorceress and saves the world from an evil dragon as well as his master (also a sorcerer). I love that shit. If I could trade my company, my family and all I have to become a real-life wizard/mage/sorcerer, I’d probably do it. Sorry guys. 😁
So in essence, that’s it. Of course I got to think a lot about my life. About the levels of responsibilities I am handling. About my relationships. About what I want, and don’t want, about time. But I don’t want to write or talk about those right now.
Oh, and the nature. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Sharing some pictures and videos of that. I believe that setting, the environment, was critical for the depths of the soul to emerge. 🌋
As always, let me know what you think.
Did you ever do something like this?
Do you have good spots to recommend?
Are you tempted to do it?
I read every comment but might not respond to everyone.
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