The Restory Retreat Centre

Photos by George Angus    Welsh poet John O'Donohue spoke of the earthern wisdom possessed by the animals we share this earth with.  “The animals are more ancient than us. They enjoy a seamless presence—a lyrical unity with the earth. Animals live outside in the wind, in the waters, in the mountains, and in the clay. The knowing of the earth is in them.”  When we become more sensitive and attuned to them, through presence, awareness, listening and looking, by deflating our self-importance, we enter into their state of knowing. O'Donohue referred to this state of shared awareness and being as “interflow” . What I do know is that we are mostly missing out through the lives we live. George  

    We are so self-centred. We bring every experience, all that happens, back to us,  me,  I. My creations, my world, my people, my job, my status. Somehow, in every conversation we end up at  Me.   We stroll in the vegetable patch, or in the veld, exclaiming: “Look, Chinese lanterns!”   Things can be so different if we look at the floating softness of Oriental lights, whispering under our breaths: “Look, gooseberries and flower-of-an-hour shaking their moorings!”   We live in a more-than-human world. George

  Our brother-in-law, William, loves the simple things in life – sunsets, a nice cup of coffee, hearty meals with family, a bowl of home made Barrowfield yoghurt, a good joke. Growing up in Douglas in the Northern Cape instilled in him this deep appreciation for the gentle beauty and value of ordinary things. For the largest part of his adult life – 31 years to be exact – he has worked as an electrical engineer at Sasol in Secunda. Not the ideal setting for someone touched by matters that feed the soul.  We weren’t surprised when he started beekeeping a number of years ago. It suits his character and acted as a very good counter-balance to his work at Sasol. He placed 2 hives behind the stone wall in our garden and it has been a wonderful journey for us too, learning through William more about these little miracle workers of nature. And we feel rich beyond belief when our bottles of “liquid gold”, tasting of Barrowfield, stand on the pantry shelf at the end of a good season. I...