Mindful Monday: Returning Home with a Full Heart

It’s Sunday night, and I’ve just returned home from hosting a weekend retreat for women—one that featured the sacred presence and wisdom of Indigenous women. And honestly, it was beyond incredible.

To all the incredible, unique, dynamic, and courageous women who shared this journey with me, and to the facilitators Heather Cabral, Melissa Deleary, Mary Lou Smoke, Mel Dodge, and Juna Guetter - Miigwech. Thank you. 

I’m still processing everything. The weekend was so full, so rich, so deeply moving that I know more insights will continue to emerge in the days to come.

To be with women, gathering in a circle, sharing stories, laughing, eating, crying, dancing, singing, howling, doing yoga, meditating, and simply being ourselves in a safe and sacred space—was a gift. A remembering. A return.

And then, to receive teachings from Indigenous women in that space… It felt like something ancient and powerful was being reawakened in all of us.

I’ll share more reflections next week, but for now, I want to offer a glimpse of what touched me most.

My sister Deb, who lovingly prepared every delicious meal for the retreat, and I were both deeply moved by the way the Indigenous women showed up. There was such intention in everything they did—their words, their presence, their rituals. A deep connection to the land, to Mother Earth, to the trees, animals, rocks, and the ancestors. You could feel it. It wasn’t spoken so much as lived.

I’ve been coming to this retreat center for twenty years. But this time was different.

Before we left, Deb and I did something we’ve never done before.

We were gifted ceremonial tobacco by Heather Cabral, one of the Indigenous facilitators. She encouraged us to offer it to the trees, to the land—with gratitude and intention.

When the retreat was over and we were all packed up and ready to leave, my sister and I walked to one of the trees on the land—a beautiful, grounded being that had quietly held us all weekend. We placed the tobacco gently at its base and thanked the tree for everything it had offered us.

Something so simple, yet so precious.

There is so much to learn from the Indigenous peoples. And I’m excited to be learning. 

One thing Heather said that continues to echo in my heart is this:

"Reconciliation begins with reconciling with ourselves. With our own hearts. With the land."

I believe that. And I’m carrying that truth with me as I step back into everyday life, forever changed.

More soon,

Diane