Travel Blog | Bali Retreat with Greatness Collective
Bali, the Island Of The Gods. I remember my parents talking about their travels, more specifically how magicaI Indonesia was and specifically their memories of Bali. It’s always been a bucket list place I wanted to visit, I knew I’d make it there eventually and here we are now, reminiscing on a beautiful immersive experience in wonderful Bali with an incredible group of people. It took 26+ hours worth of travel to get there and it was worth every second.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jenny and Mike during a service trip to Greece last year, we traveled with a group of volunteers from all over the world to work in a refuge camp on the outskirts of Athens. The experience was amazing, I was introduced to a concept of traveling that would become very dear to my heart. Jenny and Mike are the founders of The Greatness Foundation, a non profit organization that specializes in the idea of Being More, Doing More and Giving More, impact projects and other amazing things. I learned about a retreat to Bali that they had been planning, the retreat was to take place around my birthday and I thought what a cool way to welcome a new year. Not only that but If you read my previous post (you can read it here) you know that isn't the only reason I was so eager to pack up and go on an adventure. I had been feeling super stressed and stuck and this retreat was very coincidentally and conveniently called an "Empowerment Retreat" so duh, everything I needed condensed into two little magic words, of course I took this and other signs as an invitation to say YES.
Trust that I found reason after reason to say no, and very indecisively talked myself in and out of going, for whatever reason but see, that was the issue, I was feeling so unlike myself, I was having issues even making decisions, literally down to simple things in my daily life. I really don't know how one gets that way and I think it's something most of us deal with at one point or another. I was ready for a reset and that is exactly what this experience gave me. I booked the flight and off I went! Not alone, I asked my dear friend Delilah to join me on this retreat and she very gracefully said yes to the adventure!
The next two weeks were spent doing a healthy mixture of adventures and workshops, everything was fully thought out. We spent our time exploring the beauty around us, as well as taking an explorative road deep within ourselves. We took part in insightful purpose workshops, meditations and impact projects. The work we did, the time spent and places we visited, all carefully designed to re connect, re align and inspire us to take charge of our lives. The reasons for my struggle came to light and I had to confront them, I realized the root of the problem and made a pact with myself that I would come back home and work on this one thing that was altering my peace of mind the most. I have since started to move the marbles in the right direction, I am now so sure of certain things that needed moving, call it clarity.
It's so easy to see the program working when you're doing the work, surrounded by like minded people in one of the most interesting places on earth. The hard part comes after, having the courage to keep the Bali Greatness vibe going when the conditions aren't exactly optimal. Admittedly, I'm finding a few struggles with this at this present moment, but also realizing that the more I protect my time and thoughts, the more I fall back into that feeling of peace I found in Bali, the feeling of knowing exactly what I need to do to get there, my there. At times I wonder how divine discomfort feels for other people, do they experience the same feelings I do? I wonder because there are quite a few people I admire and they sure make it look almost flawless but the truth is, these people have already gone through this step in their journey, as I must, It's a process!
I'd love to show you a little photo recap below of my experience in Bali with the Greatness Foundation. I put a little caption under some of the photos below, but if you guys have any questions about any of them please let me know, I'd be happy to share. We started our trip in Ubud, the most peaceful, zen place I've ever been to as of yet, the vibes of the island are so present there. Later we traveled to Nusa Lembongan to spend a relaxing day on the island. Later making our way to Canggu, a lovely surf town. Truly a wonderful, amazing, life changing experience that I'd recommend to anyone that is either looking to find more adventure, re connect with their WHY or that is interested in giving back to the world in very special ways. There are literally so many things that these Greatness retreats could offer you, perhaps much more than you ever imagined or even thought you needed. You can find info on the foundation HERE.
