Photograph by Liz Burroughs taken at a Restory Contemplative Photography retreat On a recent visit to the island Lamu off the coast of Kenya, our friend Lizzie bought herself a beautiful ethnic bracelet. She constantly wears it. It is her reminder of an approach to life she often came across while being on Lamu that is captured in the word “polepole”. In Swahili it means " slowly, gently, softly, quietly; be calm, take it quietly, don't excite yourself, never mind ". For instance, on stepping off the pier into a dau, one of the traditional wooden sailing boats, the guide would say, “polepole” – “slowly, gently, don’t excite yourself”. Now, whenever she has a hectic day at the office, or she’s in a stressful meeting she would look down on her bracelet, gently reminding her, “polepole”. I don’t know whether Pablo Neruda was familiar with Lizzie’s Swahili word, but he would have loved the idea behind her bracelet: KEEPING QUIET Now we will count to twelve and ...
The Restory is a Retreat Centre nestled against Tafelkop, a singular mountain head near Wakkerstroom, South Africa. Here we live a simple life as contemplatives. It is a place of re-connection: with ourselves, people, Nature, Silence and Creativity. Our retreats are aimed at this. Our conversations, writing and art centre around the univocity of life. We need a place that reminds us that we are all one. The Restory hopes to be such a place and space.