What I believe (and why Retreat just has to happen)

I think it's important for you to understand my motivation in building a space like Retreat. Today, I want to share with you some of the beliefs that are guiding this business:

* I believe that everyone - EV-ERY-ONE - has the capacity for creativity. Creativity is the ability to create - to make stuff. Have you ever made something? I bet you have.
* I believe that people spend too much time interacting with their phones and not enough time interacting with each other.
* I believe that rest is necessary for all of us, and in a quantity that is larger than most of us allow in our day-to-day lives. Rest does not have to mean laying down for a nap (although those are good, too!). Rest is slowing down, stepping away from the activities that drain you, and refueling.
* I know that it can be hard to find real connection - especially with new people - in these fast-paced, Facebook-friend times.  I believe that building true, deep, soulful friendships is still possible.
* I believe that learning something new - together - is a great way to build that friendship.
* I believe that arts like embroidery, knitting, and sewing persist not only because they add beauty to a home but because they add connection to our lives - to ourselves, to our past, and to each other.
* Ditto for writing.
* I believe that making something with your own two hands builds confidence in a way that few other things can.
* I believe that we are all connected through one universal spirit, and that our individual actions - large and small - have an impact on the whole.
* I believe that practicing yoga is one effective way of growing our ability to connect with that spirit, and by extension, with one another.

I have been learning to listen to my heart. This may sound trite, but it's a big deal for me nonetheless. As this business has taken shape over the past weeks and months (and really, almost years now), I have tried to listen ever more closely to my inner guidance, to worry less about what I think will work, and more about what matters (to me, at least). What will work is still important, of course, but there's a realization here that I cannot control all of the factors that must come together to make a business successful. What I can control are the steps I take each day toward having a positive impact on the world.

What that "positive impact" looks like is defined by my own values and beliefs, ideas that I've had to get really clear on long before Retreat opens its doors. With this studio, I want to build a home where like-minded folks can hang out and build friendships in person. I hope that includes you!