I had a difficult winter this year. The coronavirus created lots of stress for me which ended up in my system collapsing from anxiety and stress and needing a good recharge to restart. The best way to heal I thought, would be to be close to my family in Greece, close to the sounds and tastes and scenery of my homeland.
The idea was I would go to a retreat, to be in nature, in calmness, to replenish and revitalize. I had known about the Hestia initiative through my close friend Georgia Ntousikou and thought spending a few days in her retreat at mount Oiti, to be an excellent idea. Georgia had shared images of the place on our many video calls in the winter, and I had felt then as if the place was calling me to visit.
The Hestia initiative as Georgia conceived it some two years ago, arose out of a deep calling to reconnect Nature with Culture in Greece.
“To welcome into everyday life the wisdom of the land, and the authentic nature of every
human being ” Georgia tells me. “This initiative aims to create alive places of learning and healing in nature where we can gather together to regain our wisdom, intuition and resourcefulness.”
The first stop on my way to my retreat was the Urban Agricultural Nature Sanctuary Georgia runs in Athens with a small team. That was my first visit at this beautiful piece of land originally planted as an orchard garden a hundred years ago. It now has become semirewilded, and a place where fruit trees, vegetable gardens and wilderness meet in a harmonious whole.
My second stop was the The Oiti Wilderness Retreat. There I had to take off my shoes before I entered the home-shelter Georgia has created there.
The Oiti Wilderness Retreat Center located in the heart of Greece, on the mainland, near the ancient sacred oracle of Delphi, and the Gates of Fire. A ten minute walk from the shelter-home is a natural spring where I dipped twice dayly and nearby villages with beauiful fountains, churches and waters. The retreat was a place to sit and pause, a safe place to reflect, away from the demands of urban life, and receive inspiration. I read there every day my book by Thich Nhat Hanh on The Art of Living a nice fit. Personally I felt that at my five day retreat, I realigned to my joy, and came back to my core something that I had lost in this corona stressed year.
The good food, cooked by fresh products hand-picked each morning from the vegetable garden, the dip in the stream, the walks in the mountain, the sounds of the goat and sheep bells’ while grazing, nourished and soothed my body and soul.
There were also the agricultural chores that we enjoyed like the unearthing of the potatoes, for which we had to get up at six am so that we would work in the morning light in the fresh air, before the heat of midday.
On the last day of my five day retreat we drove to Kamena Vourla by the sea for a morning dip in the sea. We enjoyed swimming with the swans who added their pure and royal energy to our swim.
Why am I sharing all this with you in writing?
Simply to remind you and myself that we need to nurture ourselves first if we also nurture others.
At Oiti, Georgia and I instituted the Good Life Prize which is earned by the woman among us who knows how to live life with self care as a priority.
I ask Georgia if there is something she would like to share towards this article and here is what she has to say:
“We invite those who feel called to connect with the work we do to join us. We are a community of educators, psychologists, architects, agronomists, gardeners, artists and ecologists, coming from all streams of life, who care about cultivating and supporting the living nature/human bond in our contemporary culture and creating space where people gather to regain their wisdom, intuition and resourcefulness.
We are aiming to raise funds to cover basic operating expenses for the period of September 2021- December 2022.” “50,000 Euros is our first goal towards what we envision possible to accomplish.”
-Is there a way interested people can reach you? I ask Georgia.
“Sure, if you want to find out more about the project and/or join us in the work please contact me at Georgia Ntousikou by email: heliotropiononprofit@yahoo.com or by phone at:
+306937290888.”
I had a lovely time at your place Georgia and only hope that more of my friends and community will also give themselves this great gift of self-care, to revitalize and come back home to themselves.
From Aegina with love,
Yvette Nahmia-Messinas
I read and read and couln’t stop. I enjoyeď it so much!
Thank you for your kind words Aviva,
Keep checking out my blog for more,
Best,
Yvette