Breitenbush Hot Springs

be
n⌂ICE

I read this on an ICE sign lining the drive home from Breitenbush Hot Springs. Be nice. If anything, my retreats at Breitenbush always remind me of this. Be nice to myself, to others, to the earth. For the first time, I went alone and, for the first time, I joined one of the organized retreats, this one led by Ashtanga Yoga teacher and Kirtan chanter, David Garrigues. It was an amazing weekend. The snowline was down, so families of deer grazed just beyond my reach as I soaked in the hot springs. I came within feet of a woodpecker, so close I saw that he had red on his cheeks as well as on top of his head. Kirtan, chanting, hours of revitalizing yoga, deep forest scenery, clean air and organic food all came together at 4:00 in the morning when I was jolted awake, vitalized and humming with energy. I crept out for a soak just a few feet from sleeping deer, and then wrote as the sun rose. Ah, be nice. I wish I could be that nice to myself all the time.