“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation…”
~ Audre Lorde
It takes courage to make space for what matters most – your spirit, your purpose. Pause, catch your breath, listen inward, and reconnect with your work from a place of clarity and grounding.
This Courage to TeachⓇ retreat is for educators who long to live and lead from a place of groundedness and inner alignment — not in spite of the challenges around us, but in wise response to them. When educators are well — emotionally, spiritually, and physically — our presence becomes a gift to our students, our communities, and ourselves.
We honor a broad definition of educator: if you work with young people, serve in a school setting, teach others, support families, mentor, or guide — this space is for you.
As the tides of education shift, how do we care for ourselves without losing who we are? Are you tiptoeing through the year with caution? Tumbling in the surf, unsure which way is up? Riding the waves with joy — or simply trying to stay afloat?
The ocean offers a powerful metaphor for our lives as educators. At times we are buoyed by connection, purpose, and clarity. Other times we’re knocked off our feet by overwhelm, urgency, or the pressure to compromise our integrity.
As we plant our feet in the sand, let us return to the deep waters of identity and wholeness and explore the following questions:
- How do we stay anchored to our integrity and well-being within systems that often push us to drift away?
- When the waves are high and the current strong, what anchors you to courage, clarity, and wholeness?
Wherever you find yourself in the water — drifting, swimming, or pausing at the shore — you are welcome here. There is space for you, just as you are.
Rooted in the practices of the Center for Courage & RenewalⓇ, this retreat uses TouchstonesⓇ to help build a sense of trustworthiness to explore these challenging concerns. Additional practices give you time and space for personal reflection individually and in small and large groups which may create authentic connections to your inner spirit and with others.
Come as you are. Leave with what you need—renewed spirit, grounded hope, and a deeper sense of connection.
Together we will:
- Engage in a thoughtfully facilitated retreat rooted in reflection & connection;
- Explore themes through journaling, poetry, sound healing, movement, & shared silence;
- Spend time in small groups and pairs to explore honest, meaningful questions;
- Participate in a Clearness Committee/structured group process to help discern next steps around a personal or professional challenge;
- Co-create a supportive space to honor our inner wisdom & hold life’s tensions with compassion and care.
The Center for Courage & Renewal and its facilitators do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, height, weight, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, and marital status.
