Twelve Women Traveling to a Small Greek Island: What Could Go Right?
Lessons on gratitude and how to keep going.
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I'm back in New Jersey and still feeling uplifted from my sublime experiences overseas.
I held my first retreat for ladies on the island of Zakynthos, Greece, from June 2nd through the 8th. I named the retreat "Ever Ancient Ever New" to explore ideas about aging and offer the possibility of starting over.
From my experience, the third chapter can be outstanding if we are open to seeing this period of life as a time of renewal and change. But starting again necessitates being brave enough to embrace the discomfort of being a beginner and challenging the stories we’ve told ourselves for decades.
My vision was this: There would be gentle yoga in the morning, and in the evening, after our tours, we would experiment with tapping into our innate creative nature. Exploring these possibilities would happen in the warmth of a circle of women bound to each other for one week.
I hoped the trip would, at a minimum, plant seeds for a meaningful third chapter. In the best and most optimistic scenario, my audacious desire was that our time together would be life-changing.
This idea germinated last year, and the trip somehow came together. When I emailed friends to gauge interest, I expected a tepid response. I've had many ideas that weren't enthusiastically received, even though they excited me.
But this time, things were different.
By October 2023, most available spots were filled, and by the beginning of the year, they were completely sold out.
The ladies had faith that I would pull this off. While in charge of many projects during my career, I never managed an event in another country.
A friend who excitedly reserved her spot for the trip admitted to being ambivalent about yoga. After I assured her she didn't have to do any yoga if she didn't want to, she revealed that she was also concerned about the creativity-awakening activities we had planned. She didn't see herself as creative, and the thought of hands-on activity left her in a cold sweat.
Again, I assured her she didn't have to do anything she wasn't comfortable with. The retreat was supposed to be relaxing, so there was nothing to prepare for or get worked up about.
When I told friends about my plans to hold a retreat in Zakynthos, I'd joke, "Twelve women traveling to a small Greek island. What could go wrong?"
Most chuckled at my naïve words, with one person yelling, "A lot!"
They weren't wrong.
Things went differently than planned.
My friend, who had been apprehensive about the yoga and creativity portion of the retreat, arrived in Athens a couple of days early to tour the city with a few other retreat participants before flying to the retreat on the island of Zakynthos.
But she never made it to the island.
My friend tumbled down a flight of steps in her Athens hotel a day after her arrival. She was severely injured and taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
There would be no tours, no swimming in the infinity pools, no yoga or creative exploration. My friend never got on the puddle-jumper to Zakynthos Island that week. Instead, she returned home after surgery and a hospital stay.
The shadow of her accident could have devastated her and the rest of us as a group. How could we enjoy ourselves knowing how much pain she was in? She would need surgery and a long rehabilitation.
The wisdom from managing projects told me to expect hiccups, but this was too much. What would happen next?
While I didn't know what or how to think, I kept going.
I got on the two flights as planned and landed in Zakynthos a day early. The other eleven ladies arrived on the island the next day.
Even though our friend was in an Athens hospital room, she wanted to be included and see photos of us enjoying ourselves. She messaged us in our WhatsApp group chat, joking that she wasn't sorry to miss the 6:15 am yoga.
She was happy that we were happy. Her positive attitude and joyfulness were grace-filled.
The craziest thing is that she told us the trip had transformed her. She had time to reflect and felt grateful for the support from the doctors, the hospital staff, and her friends and family.
She felt changed.
You will think I'm crazy, but I will say it anyway.
Yoga is this powerful. The poses prepare us for transformation, but they’re not necessary. Yoga doesn’t need our help to do its work.
There was so much joy, communion, and love on this trip. More things went awry that week, but that's life, and I'm grateful for it. I learned and thrived through it. The ladies who said yes to this trip were exceptional because they were flexible enough to flow with it.
I couldn't have asked for more.
Enjoy a few photos from our journey!
Excellent post and great photos!
What a wonderful post, Ilona! A wonderful yogic way to start my day in the Pacific Northwest as a pure gold sunrise strikes the trees and brush and flowers with dimension, and eagles float past. Your post is so well-written, even with an "antagonist" who didn't want to do yoga or creative exercises, yet was so gracious about her own fall and then transformation. I hope you write more about the week. I love hearing about it. Gratitude indeed. Thanks.