The Restory Retreat Centre

Spring Afternoon Open your windows. Feel the sun. Cherish the colour. Spring is in the air. With our love. George & Matilda  

  Inside and Outside History of Tafelkop The advantages of being on the heal from the flu: One moves slower.  It’s been a week since that first scratchy feeling that signaled something’s up. Since, we’ve both had bad days and better days and then bad days again. Today is one of the better ones. It seems the flu viruses these days are not easily conquered. What seems even stranger is that a symptom seems to be a feeling of hopelessness, downright bone deep depression. So, this morning I decided to counter that by taking a slow walk to the old farmstead that we are starting to renovate. Skhumbozo and Zakhele are currently stripping walls of their numerous previous coats of paint. Everything is so beautiful right now. We’ve had some Spring rain and the new life budding from trees are almost too much for my watery eyes! The crabapple has shed the last of her blossom petals and has become a lush abundance of green with the most deliciously cool shade underneath. “It needs...

   Being Still The Conversation As much as we love Barrowfield and our space, we are careful not to create the impression that you can only become quiet and be on a contemplative journey, in an isolated place, in nature, far from any human contact. To become still is possible for everyone, wherever you are. And it is not so much dependent on a quiet, peaceful environment (although it is definitely helpful), but it is more connected to a slower pace in general and an inner stillness. A disciplined daily practice, like meditation, is important in cultivating the latter. This past week we've been in Gauteng where we've experienced that firsthand. Also in the city garden of our friend, Elmarie. Different sounds, like traffic and power tools, can be heard in the background, but the experience of God is just as strong. In this week's blog post, we are saying the minimum. We want to encourage you to become quiet, wherever you are. If you want to use our videos in the process, you ...

Photograph by Hanna Jacobs We’ve had a wonderful rainy season this year. One of the results is that the grass and everything else are growing at such a rate that Skhumbuzo cannot keep up. To help him get ahead a friend of his, Siyabonga (his name means “Thank you” in Zulu) comes in on Saturday mornings to cut the lawn. During the week he goes to school, grade 11. This morning, on arrival, he walks up to me and says earnestly: “Sir, I need to write a short interview with somebody on bees. I know nothing about bees, except that they are dangerous. Can you help me?” “Yes, I think I can help you. How long must the interview be?” “About a 100 words.” “Goodness gracious,” I think to myself, “the teacher doesn’t know much about bees either!” “Must you sit down and have the interview with me and Matilda, or do you write a piece on bees in the form of an interview?” “No, I only write it in interview form.” “You do know that bees are very important to us as h...