Reflections on Retreat 2024

The retreat 2024 was comforting as it took me away from the workplace to far away Kesla in serene Satpura Ranges. The sessions and discussions were very stimulating, thoughtful and were well-paced to give space to think, reflect and enjoy the beauty of surroundings and camaraderie.

My yardstick for a good meeting or a retreat is the one that involves free flowing conversations full of ideas, thatchallenges the assumptions, and give insights. If there aremany contrarian views, then it is an icing on a cake.

When I reflect on the discussions and sessions, few ideas stand out:

First, the session discussing emotions was captivating. Emotions play crucial role in our lives. How we manage, and express them, decide a lot about our lives. The concept of keeping the key with yourself stayed with me. As the speaker correctly said some of the concepts were uncommon and contrarian but are also true.

Another idea that struck the chord with me was the idea of Respecting other human beings because I am full of respect and letting that river of respect flow outward. This iscontrarian but is also in line with human rights approach where every human being is worthy of respect and dignity by virtue of birth, irrespective of their identity or achievement.

But, is it easy to practise it in our daily lives? Why do we are so quick to judge others on the basis of achievements, andparameters? Why can’t we just respect just because we are full of respect, and because there is abundance within us? Why do we are so miser and spend this currency of respect so cautiously?

The concept of maintaining bahi khata (balance sheet). I found this strategy of combating fear very interesting and useful – writing it down in your balance sheet that few things will bound to happen in life helps in accepting the failures, rejections or downsides of life. I will write things in my balance sheet.

This is akin to an exercise of fear setting - identifying your fears, naming them and writing few action points for every fear. It helps to bring the fears to the executive part of brain and helps to minimize the fears.

As retreat concluded, I embarked on the journey back home, reflecting on the few questions.

Have we been able to develop a model or the process that others want to invest in?

What is our model for brining change and how are we negotiating with our funders? Are we strengthening our processes and the model? Or are we just being implementors of the projects that come in our kitty?