I was up with the sun, so I went out and roamed about the mission grounds. At seven, we had our first session sharing short spiritual passages in the St. Claire Chapel. From there, we were off to breakfast. We were joined this weekend by a large retreat group of students from USC. There were probably close 100 of them and they definitely challenged our ability to disregard outside noises and distractions.

After breakfast, we cleared out our rooms then met up for our final meditation session. We had an excellent weekend of slowing down and getting present. We ended by collaborating on ideas for next year’s retreat then headed to the cafeteria for a final meal before saying our farewells and taking our renewed mindfulness back out into the world.

Spent the afternoon hanging out at Dad’s. At sunset, he and I took a walk along the urban trail that runs behind the houses on his street. We caught an amazingly clear sunset with sight lines all the way out to the beach. I was awed by seeing a large ship sailing past the Carlsbad power plant from all the way here in San Marcos. A warm, inviting evening for a day ending walk.