Treat yourself like you want to be treated.

Hello from New Mexico!

I'm back in Taos 

at Mabel's House

for my annual retreat.

It is a homecoming, always.

Mabel's feels like home to me

because it's always been a place

for people to connect with their whole, strange selves.

You can feel it in the floorboards:

this is a place to Be Who You Are.

Your whole

messy

eccentric

freedom-seeking

pleasure-loving

deeply creative 

self.

*

My lovely retreaters arrived yesterday

and it was so fun to see

how delighted they are with this beautiful place.

Even better, though, 

is to see how they respond 

when I tell them about our #1 agreement:

We each and all do as we please.

Meaning:

Want to attend the retreat workshops?

Lovely.

Want to nap instead?

Fabulous.

Want to come to yoga in the morning?

Awesome.

Want to skip yoga and go boutique browsing instead?

Perfect.

Want to be alone?

Go on and be alone!

In this place

for this whole week

we practice being a community of generous people

who put ourselves first.

We practice minding our own business

(which by the way

is often woefully neglected,

and full of messages we've been too busy to hear).

We practice asking for what we want.

We practice listening in

to attend to our own needs and desires

rather than anticipating

accommodating

privileging

the needs and desires of everyone else.

I wish you could see the retreaters' faces

as I announce this approach.

And I wish you could feel the ease

and centeredness

and clarity

and  P O W E R

that emerges

as women treat themselves as well

as we've learned to treat others.

Wish you were here!