there aren't too many things better than rowing...

...but a good retreat is one of them.  I am finishing the first week of my sabbatical with a somewhat silent retreat at a local retreat center called Santa Sabina. I say somewhat because it is turning out to be more quiet than I had expected and originally wanted. It is also exactly what I needed.

One of the little jewels of this place is called the Hermitage - a straw bale house set just a stone's throw away from the main buildings, but with the feel of being a thousand miles away. I went there this morning to pray and to write in the natural light streaming in the windows. I looked up and saw a doe watching me through this very window. I made a slight move to reach for my camera and she moved too, as if to say "no, not that."  So we simply met each others' eyes. Eventually she ambled away and I listened to her footsteps circumambulate my little dwelling. I give thanks for the meeting.

What might we learn if we practice simple waiting, looking out the window?