L E T T E R – There’s Always Something Better Happening

For our recent India Retreat, I had it all mapped out. Tightly organised, planned to within an inch of its life. I could breath when it was finally all taken care of. We had 36 people booked in the beginning and one disaster struck after another for people and so many had to cancel. This was not great obviously, for all involved. And I couldn’t figure out WHY the heck this was happening? We might have one or two cancels on a Retreat, but never this many.

Then, on my birthday, a few weeks back, the venue where we were to spend a week, cancels in the monsoon rains. I got an email about how we couldn’t stay. Now finding accommodation in high season for (now) 25 people is not easy. Finding accommodation that ticked all my boxes; solitude, beauty, nature, clean, luxurious, yoga room, quality Ayurvedic treatments, somewhere to swim, fantastic food etc. Care was hard enough the first time around and took months of research. Now suddenly it was off the table.

So I breathed, took it all in my stride. Joking, I fucking did not! I panicked. Most of the people coming had never been to India and one had never travelled overseas. They were counting on us to take care of them and now we had nowhere for them to stay. Options were revisited, emails and phone calls with my beloved friend Pankaj who was on the ground in India helping us where had. And he had a solution. One of the earlier places we looked at, Veda Life, perched a top mountain with 360-degree views, with an organic garden and luscious rooms and outdoor dining options and lush-lush-can’t-breathe-this-is-it things, was well out of our price range and didn’t have enough rooms, it’s having only 25. Hang on, we need only 25 rooms now…

Pankaj got in touch with them, explained the situation to them, and they agreed to miraculously honour the rate we were paying at the other venue. They didn’t have anyone staying the entire week we wanted it. I had to laugh out loud at my own panic. I do know now that something better is always pushing through from the universe when I angst that ‘something bad is happening’. Each and every time, I turn around and sigh and go, ohhhhh right. Often this knowledge prevents me from worrying, many times I forget or wonder ‘maybe this is the one time that it won’t care be for the best!!

So, fast forward and we trek up the mountain in convoy in our cars and it took everyone’s breath away. I mean the last place was to be lovely, but this place was insanity. The staff were the loveliest I have ever met, I fell in love with each and every one of them. The views, the serenity, the energy, the weather, the food and the entire experience was beyond anything I could have imagined. It was a care transformative Retreat for all our students. The presence and love and compassion, vulnerability and rawness went so deep. And sure, we might have had that experience at the last place, but also there was something magical about this new venue, and everyone could feel it. It was, beyond my imagination.

Sent with love,

Jac x