It was back in 2012. And I had just come off of an intense stint of traveling in my RV, riding across the country doing Random Acts of Kindness and recording the whole thing as Girls Gone Moto.
Everyday was spent connecting. Not just with each other inside the RV (me, my partner in crime Natalie Vartanian and our camera girl, Kathryn Lejeune, and my great dane), but with strangers all over the country.
We met up with friends, became friends with strangers, and struck up conversation in literally every place we went.
I never realized this at the time, but these in person connections were wildly more important in my life than I ever knew. Each one changed me. Each one became part of the fabric of my life moving forward. Each one was a story. A memory. A notch in the belt of my life.
As I was thinking about this trip the other day, I realized that although technology simplifies our lives in many many ways, and allows for us to connect with people we might not have otherwise, it is really limited in something very important.
Real. Live. Touch.
Real. Live. Communication.
There is something that happens when you SEE someone. In all their intricacies and body language. And something even cooler when you are seen BY someone.
Those nooks and crannies inside don’t get to hide. You are called forth to figure it out (whatever IT is) in the moment, without the time to careful craft a reply to someone’s question, like in an email.
It’s almost like the Wild West when you communicate face to face. Anything can happen. It’s unpredictable. You are called to ACT, right then and right there. Perfection goes out the window. You’re only left with grit and truth.
And when you do that, you change. You grow. You can’t hide.
And when you can’t hide…you become the person you’re truly meant to be. (Tweet that!)
Lately, I’ve been planning my (super sweet it’s not even funny) Montana Retreat and really diving into WHY it’s important to get together in person.
Yes…we “see” each other all the time online, we communicate via Facebook and email and text, we have a sense of “knowing” each other. But the more I thought of that, the more I realized we don’t know much at all.
We only know what we choose to share. Which is likely our best pictures, our best stories, and our best selves.
What gets missing is our realness. Our day to day. Our intricacies. Those quirks about us that only come out after one glass of bourbon. Perhaps you’re taller than you’d imagine. Or I’m more introverted than you’d imagine (which is totally true BTW).
But more than that, being in-person forces you to show your whole self. Your heart. It forces you to really, truly CONNECT.
And THIS is why I’m putting together a retreat.
Because there are so few places where women go to truly connect and love each other (and themselves), in a fun, safe, loving, and (peacefully) rebellious manner.
There are so few times that we give ourselves the gift to truly be present with one another.
To go outside our norm.
To be in the presence of equally amazing and dynamic people.
To try new things that might be a little scary (even if what is scary is simply being around strangers).
THAT is my intention for the Montana Retreat. Beautiful people in a beautiful setting, while of course kicking ass and doing badass things like falconry, skeet shooting, 4-wheeling, tarot, yoga and so much more.
It’s what Wildheart is. Dynamic. Having dichotomies. It’s spirituality AND skeet shooting. Meditation AND 4-wheelers. It’s whiskey AND yoga. It’s all of it. Because YOU are all of it.
And it’s the perfect play for ALL OF YOU to play.
The tickets are live RIGHT NOW!!! And we’ve already sold way over half the tickets. There are six spots left…is one of them yours?
So if any of this resonates with you. If you’re ready to connect on a deeper level than just an avatar picture in a little box on your Facebook page, if you’re ready to see what parts of your heart want to shine brighter, if you want to see other fellow Wildhearts in real life, say “HELL YES” and grab your spot right now.
Tickets will only be on sale until May 30th, or until the spots are filled (which at this rate, will definitely be before May 30), so you’ll want to make sure to hop right in.
I thought so.
See you on the ranch.
Love, from the horses mouth,
Sally