The true value is in walking away different than when you arrived, carrying more tools, countless memories, and more joy, so that you can re-enter your life equipped to continue growing.  We retreat to advance.  The benefits are long-lasting and priceless and only God knows how far they will reach.

It was later in life, I learned I can choose this for myself with community or without. But my soul craves it, and when my sense of self feels crowded out by life, my soul needs it.

In the quietest moments of the day, as the first light begins to illuminate the sky, the waves roll in rhythmically, and I feel a peace in my soul, a sense of wonder in my mind. I ponder how big my Creator is to have dominion over the vast ocean, how beautiful his creation truly is, and how my part in it, though tiny, is somehow special to him.