“The rocking motion is very soothing, going back to the cradle or even just a mother’s arms. We all know that,” the administrator of a geriatric center once said.
Perhaps for that reason, high-backed rocking chairs lined up on a porch, front or back, invite guests of all ages to sit and stay awhile. And when that porch overlooks a tidal creek meandering through the marshes of Tybee Island, the chairs truly welcome visitors although a late cold front chills the skin. If a lone white heron perched on the seawall can hold its position for hours, surely humans can brave the piercing wind for a few moments just to rock back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
Properly shaped runners are the key to a good rocker. A chair should feel balanced. Runners are longer in the back to prevent backward tipping, but the amount of curvature is important, too. Just as there are standards for a comfortable rocker, so standards exist in almost every other field to insure quality.
And yet, the visitors who find the rocking chair so inviting do not think of the mechanics, but rather of the pleasure such an experience offers. Even when they fall into a rhythmic rocking motion, the spectacular view dominates their thoughts. And thus, a retreat begins.
Whenever the military retreats from the battlefield, even if it is the better part of valor, we sense loss unless it is the enemy backing down. However, all other retreats offer respite.
Churches host spiritual retreats for their members; schools provide educational retreats so that teachers can become students once again. A rare retreat for writers brings those who usually work alone into the company of kindred spirits who also thrive on that solitary life-style. However, the intent of all retreats is to send participants, renewed and refreshed, back into nitty gritty of the real world.
And usually, it works. Retreat goers return home ready to confront their challenges anew. The sheer motion of rocking in these quiet settings can etch the renewal into the memory. Just as people find comfort from the rocking, so those who attend a retreat find a sustained strength for the tasks at hand.
A good setting - coastal islands are perfect; good food - how about seafood?; good camaraderie - people with different projects, but also a willingness to critique; good instruction - motivational activities to stir the creative juices; but most of all - plenty of time for private reflection in a rocking chair or during exploration of the site - all go together to build a good retreat. And whenever participants can discover that which they seek, their lives are enriched not only for the moment, but always.
Likewise, as the rockers on a chair should be properly shaped, those who choose to retreat, should prepare themselves properly for receiving the blessings of the event.
It’s not just another meeting to attend absentmindedly. Prepare for a different kind of work. A good retreat aids participants in finding a balance, a more even keel in their day to day routine back home. Observers not only see that rockers are longer in the back to prevent tipping, but they also begin to recognize that setting and accomplishing real goals rather than allowing themselves to be buried under busy work keeps them upright. Attitude is as important to one’s approach to living and working as the curvature is to the function of the rocker.
In Christianity, Palm Sunday begins Holy Week, seven days of intense focus on Easter. Although many of faith have religiously observed the entire 40-day Lenten period, others narrow their focus to this week only. It, too, becomes a time of spiritual retreat from every day pressures. Although few ever fully escape all of their daily duties, the time consuming details of making a living assume a lesser role in the light of these religious observances. It is also a time of retreat from the debate over whether the “devil is in the details,” as an old Irish proverb proclaims, or as I prefer to believe, “God is in the details.” Some can even make time to sit in a rocker to reflect. Likewise, whenever observers of Holy Week discover that which they seek, their lives are enriched not only for the moment, but always.
However, while each retreat we choose to attend and each religious holiday we observe can, at the moment, affect the way we live our lives, we soon discover our deep need for refresher courses. A celebration of Holy Week begins to shape our soul, but within months, we crave the power that comes from reoccurring ritual. Thus, the Christian calendar repeats itself annually. And with observance each year, we remember and we grow.
It’s like the porch rocker whose invitation entices us. Whenever we accept its invitation to rock, to experience the old sensations of the cradle or of our mother’s rocking arms, we always arise renewed.
2005
Beautiful story