The Restory - From Roots to Shoots

When we started The Restory News as an e-mail newsletter in September 2011, we saw it as the taking root of a part of a dream we had. At that stage it was mainly the writing-about-it-part.

The bigger dream that stimulated and still stimulates our writing, looks something like this:

We want to promote conscious living, a life lived close to nature and the rhythms of the seasons, where you tap into your own creativity and apply it. It must be a quiet place where you get to know yourself, get in touch with that self and ultimately with God. “God in all things” must not be a mere concept but a guide to discovery, surprise and amazement – a way of life. Ultimately it is about tapping into the holy and the powerful that we believe is ever-present and waiting for us and not so much the creation of something new on our part. From experience we do not want to do something that requires over-complicated structures and ends up in a list of projects and activities that have to be maintained at all cost. It must be simple and in essense an act of listening and constant discernment.

Initially we made a very close connection between The Restory and the farm here on Rietfontein (see the post One good place - Rietfontein). We thought that writing about our experiences on Rietfontein will be the content of The Restory News. To a large extent that was the case, but gradually we realised that The Restory was really not so much a place, but a worldview and that a number of matters not related to Rietfontein were important and we should write about that as well. I touched on the whole issue in the post God in All Things.

Over time it also became clear that Rietfontein as such is not the physical place best suited for what we had in mind. This may sound as if we are contradicting ourselves, so let me explain: For this way of life, there is not a good or bad place as such. We wholeheartedly believe that wherever we are can be the place where we experience the holy and the deeper meaning of life. So, whether you are living in an apartment in Frankfurt or on a rural piece of land in Venezuela, the principles mentioned above apply and are valid. But by listening and through a process of discernment we realised that life on Rietfontein has become overcomplicated and practical issues have to be addressed. My father is getting old (see the postsHomo Intelligens and Fathers, Sons and Donkeys) and we have to look at matters best suited for his care. It is time to move into a totally new phase where Rietfontein will only complicate matters. Despite all its positive qualities, it is no longer in our best interest to stay on.

In the course of last year we put the farm up for sale and we started looking for retirement villages and facilities for my dad. Simultaneously, Matilda and I have started to look for a place where we can live and work and that does not actively contradict the principles by which we want to live.

We wrote about our experience and discoveries in Wakkerstroom in Exploring Wakkerstroom, A Darkness not Dark and A Rare Find. It seems as if that is the place where we are led to and a more official phase for The Restory is to be entered into. For the moment we are looking at places up for sale, we talk to as many inhabitants as possible, make constant calculations and keep listening to what The Still Small Guiding Voice is telling us.

So, after this phase of putting down roots and looking at The Restory shoots appearing, what do we see?

This:

First the Hub or Heart is the Restory as such:

A place guided by the principles of providing a peaceful and safe haven where broken or hurt people can recover and heal, where those at a crossroad can find direction and where discoveries and growth are promoted. This happens in a setting that is much more organic and down to earth than clinical and connected to technique. It is the space and place where Matilda and I are creative and where we live a life in step with nature and the seasons. People coming to The Restory will be taken up in and will experience with us that way of life. We believe that we are merely the custodians of these basic elements that reveal and heal and that we must pass it on for retreatants and visitors to use and apply in their own settings.

On a very practical level it implies facilities where people can stay over, a space for conversation and communion, steel, wood and pottery studios and space where fruit, vegetables and herbs can be cultivated. Obviously it must be home to the dogs and Mily the cat.

The more specific elements of the Restory, flowing from this Hub or Heart, are the following:

-       Quiet Days. Of vital importance in the listening process.

-       An orchard and a vegetable and herb garden. Organic and whatever is in season is preserved and used. Retreatants and visitors working with us in the gardens as an act of healing and becoming grounded will be encouraged.

-       Eco living. Applicable on sources of energy, water consumption, handling of refuse, everything.

-       Writing. About The Restory as such but also in a wider sense.

-       The Restory News. Through our writing about specific issues and subjects relating to creation centred spirituality and mysticism as we experience it on a daily basis, we gain insight and share our discoveries with you.

-       Long table meals and conversations. Without too much planning and organizing involved we want to have simple, wonderful meals with friends and guests that lead into relaxed table talk sessions afterwards.

-    Development of Creativity. Conducting courses and workshops through which we help people discover their own creativity.

-       Studios and workshops. Where we apply our own creativity and through which we supplement our income. A concept shop comes to mind, where we sell the by-products of this way of life - surplus jams, pickles or artwork that were born of the inspiration gleaned from our shared experiences. As in the case with the orchard and vegetable and herb gardens, we dream of involving those who come to The Restory in these activities as well.

-       Walking. An integral part of conscious living and creation centred spirituality.

-       Travelling. We want to be local in application but we also want to be influenced universally.

-       Our own growth and study. In a way related to the travelling, but with a more specific focus on reading, attending courses and immersing ourselves in the wider conversations on the matters that are dear to us or that challenge us into exploring and listening to other viewpoints. It is very important for us to be inclusive in our approach.

-       Enneagram. The use and study of this as an instrument of discovery and growth.

-       Retreats. Over weekends but also over longer periods.

-       Spiritual Direction. For directees who will be seen on a regular basis, but also for those who attend the retreats and have the need for it.

We truly want to live more rooted, authentic and creative lives. And if, through this, we can accompany other pilgrims in search of the more and the deeper, we shall be most grateful.

We share this with you because in some way or the other, often without you even knowing it, you are part of this process as well. And we ask that you please carry us in your prayers and thoughts. Any comments, suggestions, ideas and proposals – in particular concerning funding and generating an income – will be most welcome.

George