Scottish Facilitators Retreat Reflections
by Orla Beaton
Here are some photos and a poem from the Scottish Facilitators Retreat which took place at Kilgraston School in Perthshire from Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th February 2022. Around 35 of us gathered together in this beautiful setting and the students kindly cleared their bedrooms for us to stay!
It was the first in-person retreat in Scotland since before the pandemic began and there was a palpable sense of relief, comfort and joy at being together again physically. Despite some initial Covid-safety niggles – are the windows open enough, do we need more space between dining tables – we quickly settled into the embrace of the Sangha.
Dharma Teachers, Murray Corke and Susanne Olbrich, guided us skilfully in the art of facilitating and their talks generated much rich discussion and sharing. We enjoyed a fabulous bell practice session, walking meditation in the snow, a be-in and lots of nourishing silence.
The organisers, Roland Spencer-Jones and Orla Beaton, would like to thank all those in attendance for helping to make the retreat such a success. We returned to our Sanghas with a new found respect for the art of facilitation.
Safety in Numbers
There were stars on her ceiling
I lay awake with happiness
Wondering whose room this was
Wondering how it felt
To be so far from home
So far from family
How lucky I was to be
Reunited with my family
A spiritual one
In brown half-robes
Slippers and lazy clothes
No longer imprisoned
In Zoom boxes
Our freedom was physical
We sat upright together
On a wooden sprung floor
The theatre of a local school
Our breathing room for now
The building rambled
Disorientating level changes
Lack of light and endless corridors
There was continuous window adjusting
To ease Covid nerves
And yet the school held us
There was safety in those walls
Comfort, friendship and great relief
Safety in numbers
Never would we take
Together
For granted again
© orlabeaton
23/2/22
