“Spreading LOVE through generosity”

This past weekend, I co created my first relationship reTREAT with Bhaskar Goswami at a magical place called: Le Couvent Val Morin.

The word retreat has the word “TREAT” in it. What does it ring to your ears? TREAT YOURSELF.

This retreat was all about getting “up to date” on life, disconnecting to reconnecting with ourselves and cultivating what a generous spirit is all about.

Cheryl: “It’s all about generosity and generosity starts at home…the generosity of love starts with us… It’s about being kind to ourselves…and the people around us…” 

True generosity is the Key to long lasting relationships and LOVE. It is NOT selfish to be kind and generous to ourselves first. It’s actually a must!! Like they say, you can’t pore from an empty cup so make sure your cup is full.  Self-care allows us to be present in our life, with our families, children, and friends and to others in general.

Bhaskar: “To me just the act of looking after yourself, after your health, your mind body and spirit is an act of generosity because after all it’s the people around you that benefit from you being a healthier, happier person. So just by taking the time to be in a place like this is a profound act of generosity to yourself and to the ones around you.” 

In life you have to make sure to take time for yourself to take care of your needs. That’s what retreats are great for. They allow you to disconnect from your daily routines and allow you to press that “refresh button” on your soul.

I have been to several retreats over the past few years and as a professional coach it has become one of my missions to create these retreats to bring people, communities together and to be able to help spread the love and generosity.

Cheryl: “This retreat has really come from the generosity of the spirit of the women who signed up to come here and share their time, it’s from the generosity of Le Couvent and our many sponsors as well as the generosity of others who have helped some of the people that are here with us today to be able to come by sponsoring part of this event. Those moms are from single MOMtreal , we’re happy to have them joining us…”

After visiting different venues, I was grateful to discover Le Couvent Val Morin. As soon as I walked into this place, there was something about the space and energy that just felt right. I couldn’t have chosen a better place to give my first retreat and I can genuinely say that it was a great success by the transformation I saw in the people that attended. If you missed out, don’t worry as there will definitely be more coming ahead.

Frédéric Drouin: “Right from the beginning, when I bought the place…I thought this project has to serve the community…and giving the space to charity based organizations that want to help retreats for their beneficiaries…”

Caroline Leonard: “We can see when people come from a huge week of work…all stressed and they enter…they say oh it’s beautiful…they are in touch with nature and when I get back to them on Sunday they are totally different…It’s a beautiful space to people who don’t sometimes sleep enough, that are not in a comfortable environment…it is really nourishing for us to be able to allow a space so they can connect inside and after feel better…”

There is something gratifying about seeing someone happy, seeing them smile knowing that YOU help put it there. Generosity can be done in so many different ways but no matter how you pay it forward, the feeling of giving to someone is pure bliss.

This weekend was all about that and it was beautiful to see. I witnessed thirty people create a special bond, share their stories, get close to one another, and come together in a circle of sisterhood through all the smiles, laughs and tears.

Cheryl: “What we give can give so much more back to us as long as we give it in the right vain and that there’s no attachment to it.  That’s the beauty of generosity and we’ve been experiencing that a lot amongst the women here that have been here, and doing different things together, whether if it’s just generosity of our own time to listen or our own time to support somebody else as they’re going through something and the beauty of that is mirrored when you see it and you see the receiving from the other person and their joy in it. That’s the basis of love, spreading love is the generosity.” 

As people, we have to help spread the love and generosity to make for a better and healthier society. A little act of kindness goes a long way and what goes around comes around! I am convinced…

Bhaskar: “If you really think about it under the surface, the entire society is built on generosity. Almost everything that I am has been from generous parents, generous mentors and teachers…so much of our society is built on generosity which we don’t often acknowledge…So everything we’re experiencing right now is really an act of generosity just to receive and give and to be in a place like this with such inspiring company and once you experience this, you just wish it for the world…”

Frédéric: “Generosity is at the base of our society for many centuries now… if we collectively lack generosity we are going as a society into trouble…the spirit of generosity is inspiring…”

You can look at generosity and kindness from different angles. One can think that either you have it or you don’t. Or you could think of each as a muscle. In some people, that muscle may be stronger than in others, but it can grow stronger in anyone with the right amount of exercise.

I tend to think that you have to exercise it in order to keep it in shape. In other words, a good relationship requires continuous and constant hard work. In life anything we practice, we get good at and eventually become experts at it. It’s the same thing with kindness and generosity. The more you practice and the more you pay it forward, the greater you get at it.

Cheryl: “Lifting people up…the fact that you deep down reach for something and that can lift somebody else up…Supporting each other is the way to go… generosity spreads so much love …doing good things for people…”

Bhaskar: “When we act to lift somebody up, it genuinely feels good…when we’re lifted up by somebody it feels good… watching somebody lift somebody up feels good, so that’s  the laws of nature telling us this is the way to go…Generosity is really a state… the focus is how we are as a state …we can all agree that there is a lot of fear and stress in society…the simple thing here is that it’s impossible to be stressed and generous at the same time …so literally, the antidote to stress is generosity…”

Le Couvent Val Morin gave me the greatest gift of generosity this past weekend by allowing me to use their space to do what I love doing most; help spread LOVE which is my mission in life. I believe that the most important relationship is the one that we have with ourselves which is what a retreat allows us to nourish and work on.

Cheryl: “A retreat is also about being generous to YOU…” 

Frédéric: “It’s very special the architecture of this place…a community was living here and when you build a place for a community, you build it with a lot of common space that brings the people together…this is to help people get together… all the common spaces are right at the center of the building… a nice place to promote relationships and exchange…”

Cheryl: “What’s at the center of everything? Heart…and you can feel the heart, you can feel the energy in this space, but we’re also creating that all the time when we’re giving generously from the heart…”

When you give, the world becomes gentler and the relationships become easier. When we are kind and generous with ourselves, our partnerships become a place of secure and sacred growth. The more freely and openly we give, the more we receive. It really is that simple!

If you would like to join me at my next retreat, please follow me on Facebook or Instagram at: Cheryl Besner to stay up to date on my activities and most of all to stay connected with me.

If you need my support, please do not hesitate to reach out to me 1-844-744-SOLO (7656)!

Cheryl xo