Your Courageous Life

Well, okay. Talk about a “Duh” kind of question. Who wouldn’t want to go to Italy?

But if you’ve always wanted to go to Italy, this might be the way. Here’s the deal: My Courageous Play retreat in Florence, Italy, is totally full when it comes to meals/lodging (wowza!) but the other day it occurred to me that perhaps there are people who will either be in Italy around the same time or who would love to fly over, find their own lodging deal in Florence, and have a sassy and spectacular group of women to spend five days with. I mean, sipping wine anywhere in Italy is pretty great. But hanging out on the grounds of a 16th century villa sipping wine with other women who speak the same language as you? Nice. Also, grabbing cappuccino and pastries before hopping a bus to Siena for the day? Good stuff. Then throw in classes in art, writing, and photography…and then a portrait session to remember your time there.

Also, another handy thing to have when you’re in Italy is someone who can ask where the nearest restroom is…and then understand the directions given. (That’d be me).

So while I can’t offer accommodations for the Italy trip, what I can offer is a few spots for women who might want to head to Italy October 11th-15th and join us for classes, trips, and more. (Also note: this is a non-smoking retreat). If you’re interested, contact me ASAP at 510.827.0303 or kate@yourcourageouslife.com. I’m limiting this to 5 spaces, and would need to get you set up with a deposit and other details to get started. Cost for joining us? $600 smackers, payable in installments.

Florence, Italy.

Italy is a place that feels to me like a second home. In my travels there, I have stepped off of the plane and felt largely utterly in place. I am content to simply wander and people watch and notice (oh yes, and–stop for gelato).

One of the first things that caused me to love Italy so much was the language. I would hardly be the first to declare Italian the most beautiful language on the planet; all of those luscious rolling rrrrr’s and the way a sentence in Italian drifts off of the tongue…truly, I could probably listen to an Italian simply read the phone book. My joke is that normal people dream of summer houses and size-2 waistlines. I dream of being able to speak Italian fluently, effortlessly.

So today, try something new: Learn 10 words in a new language. I’ll offer up ten words in Italian, just because I love it so much. But any ten words will do. Choose a language that you have always been particularly drawn to, whatever it may be, and just look up the words in a dictionary online and put them on a few post-its and keep them around throughout the day. Or write down the Italian words I’m offering you, here. Maybe this is something that would belong in that book “Stuff White People Like,” but something about learning Italian and having the words hanging up around my house feels a little…exotic.

And I’m going to offer up my favorite Italian words/expressions, too:

1.) Buongiorno= good morning

2.) Meravigliosa = wonderful!

3.) Perfetto! = perfect!

4.) Porca miseria! = “miserable pig” an expression used the way we say, “Dammit!” when dropping something or making a mistake.

5.) Puo repeterle? = Can you repeat that/it?

6.) Dov’e il bano? = where’s the bathroom?

7.) Sono molto stancha. = I am very tired.

8.) Ho fame. = I am hungry (literal: “I have hunger.”)

9.) Me le cavo = “I can get by.” I picked this up from Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love, and the Italians nodded approvingly when I used this.

10.) Mi dispiace, per favore, non fumare. Io sono gravida. = “I’m sorry, please, no smoking. I am pregnant.” This one comes in handy when the cigarette smoke starts to get on your nerves. If you’re a guy reading this, I’m sorry that I can’t offer you something.

Speaking of Italy…

Want to go?

I’m planning a retreat there from October 11-15th. The retreat is a Courageous Play retreat, meaning–this is about being in Italy. This is about indulging completely in beautiful scenery, speaking Italian, painting, writing, napping in the grass, taking optional day trips. You don’t have to “do” anything–you simply get to relax. The villa where I’m planning this retreat is absolutely gorgeous–we’re talking stone buildings, an enoteca for wine-tasting, stunning sunsets, walking along a gentle stream on a one-lane road gorgeous. We’ll go to the pasticherria for pastries and amazing cappuccino in the mornings, duck into Florence by bus (a quick 15-20 minute hop), explore the back roads of the city, take pictures, nap in the afternoons, go on gelato runs. 

Retreat price: $1,000, paid in installments (if you wish–of course, you can also pay in full up front).

Includes: Lodging from the 11th-15th, two meals per day (locally grown, fresh food), painting / writing/ photography classes, a portrait session, and the use of a salon where we can spread out, me as your guide, acting as a point-person for optional day trips to antique fairs or medieval towns nearby.

If you have always wanted to go to Italy but have been afraid to go because of gluten issues or a related food allergy, fear no more–we’ll have access to our own kitchen, which means that you’ll be able to stock food there. I can also work with the villa to ensure that we have access to food that meets your needs.

The PDF with more details: http://www.yourcourageouslife.com/italyretreat.pdf

At this point in time, I have room for four more people. If you’re interested, contact me ASAP to get started: kate @ yourcourageouslife .com.

Stacy’s COURAGE necklace (a limited-edition available here!)

For all of what I’ve spent the past few months fantasizing, dreaming, creating, building, working towards to only be a few days away is such a thrilling–absolutely thrilling feeling.

It also feels very different than I had thought it would feel–and that’s okay. Even on the days when I have been most afraid, I have had some larger sense that whatever was coming up next for me, I needed to make the shift. It feels good. What I think more than anything else is that I feel more alive than I had felt before, and the surprise has been that “alive” is not always euphoria. Sometimes “alive” is a thin razor’s edge away from the cold, bracing wind of fear (and believe me, I know what that kind of wind feels like, having spent a few winters in Chicago…so sorry to all of you dear souls who are getting blasted with nasty winter weather!).

So here’s the rundown of what’s coming:

First, the registration deadline for The Courageous Year is in three days (1/1/10)! The course will officially start on January 17th, but I’ll need time to set up your member login and things of that nature, which is why I’m cutting the deadline a bit earlier. To register, visit the registration page for the e-course.

Second, the Courageous Living retreat to be held in April in San Francisco still has some spots open. I am so incredibly excited about this retreat. I am absolutely creating it as the kind of weekend that I would want to attend as a participant (complete with our own private house, catered meals made by this chef I know who makes–seriously–the most amazing food, and such a lovely beach view…click here to see a video of the grounds!). Participants will come away rested, connected, and inspired after a weekend of both sharing their truth, as well as taking a step back from the everyday grind and getting an opportunity to dream even bigger. There is currently a $200 discount for the retreat, bringing the total cost to $400–if you sign up by January 1st. Visit the registration page for the Courageous Living retreat to get started.

Third, also starting on January 1st is a series I’m starting called the “Stop the Job Suckage Challenge!” I believe that even the most difficult work environment can be improved so that it doesn’t feel quite so hard to get up in the morning and face a job that you are not passionate about and that you may wish you could quit (like, five minutes ago). Download a badge and post it on your Facebook page or Blog, and link to:

http://www.yourcourageouslife.com/learn-to-like-your-job.html

(right-click on the badge, followed by a Save-As)

Beyond anything else, I feel such an enormous outpouring of love and support for all of the people who have helped me in the past few months. I love all of you, near and far (some of you VERY far) who asked if they could pass out courageous cards in your area. I love all of you who Twittered or posted on Facebook about the e-course or the retreats. I love all of you who sent me emails of support, just telling me that you thought I was doing something worthy–absolute strangers did this! I love all of you who participated in giveaways and left fun comments. I have never felt so held, and all of this support only motivates me more to do my part to help YOU–to help you to live your courageous lives. That might not show up in the form of taking an e-course or a retreat, but I really do have this vision for collaboration with the world, for all of us sharing a vision of people living lives that they’re really passionate and excited about.

My heart is so, so full of gratitude–and quite frankly, I feel better about the world in general–just knowing that yes, yes, yes...there are others of you out there who want people to live BIG. Yes, yes, yes there are so many others of you who know that you weren’t meant to live halfway. Yes, yes, yes there are so many others who, like me, don’t have all of the steps and how-to’s mapped out, yet we’re still going to look around and try things out and see what happens and then try more and see what happens again.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

**On a slower internet connection, press “Play,” then “Pause,” watch the status bar to see when the video has fully downloaded, and then press “Play” again.

I’ve had a conference call with my two dear soul sisters, Vivienne McMaster and Valerie Tookes, and I am so excited–they are very generously acting as my assistants for the upcoming Courageous Living Retreat in April.

In addition to assisting and participating in the retreat, Valerie and Vivienne are donating their skills to help make it an even more amazing experience for YOU–Valerie is offering consults on dietary needs (not the kind that should you or shame you–the kind that offer the relief of not sorting through the diet madness perpetuated by the media!) and Vivienne is offering mini-portrait sessions (I’ve worked with her before, and this is my one of my favorite shots that she has taken)!

The cost of the retreat is only $400 if you register your deposit by the January 1st deadline (therafter, the total cost is $600). The retreat includes lodging (in our own house) and all but one meal, transport to and from the city, and, of course–flowers to wear in your hair, if you’re so inclined (I mean, if you’re going to San Francisco…).

To get more information, check out the Retreats page–and watch the video above. In it, I’ve included shots of the house and the grounds, as well as the beautiful ocean view. I can almost smell the ocean air!

How BIG do you want to live? from Kate Swoboda on Vimeo.

Note: To have an uninterrupted experience, you might want to press “Play,” then press “pause” and let the video download all the way before pressing “play” again.

So, truly, my aim with having an online journal is not to talk incessantly about workshops and retreats. The thing is, it’s on my brain lately (which is why it’s been really great for me to take time off from the computer on the weekends). 

Please forgive me–I beg of you. I can only offer up that for the first time in my life, I am doing something that I really feel passionate about, that I really feel called to do, and this feeling is kind of like a low-grade “high,” a constant buzz of excitement/giddy stuff in the background. I’m feeling so full of inspiration and ideas and I’m having so much fun with what I’m creating.

A new retreat date has been confirmed: April 16-18, 2010 in San Francisco, CA!

To see what signing up looks like, go here: http://www.yourcourageouslife.com/retreats.html

The video above is one that I originally made with the intention of showing people interested in the retreat what the area would look like.  The house I’m renting is on the Marin Headlands Hostel property, and it’s gorgeous. Hardwood floors, a curved staircase, an entire dining area for us to eat in and make art in, a cozy living room with plush couches and chairs to sink into, the smell of cedar and eucalyptus trees all around. The house that you see pictures of in this video is our house.

The beachfront, which I put both video and a picture of in this video, is only a 20-minute walk from the house. The air smells so fresh and pure. It’s amazing. 

I have been thinking lately that it seems to me that everything in my life up to this point was a preparation for this point, even though I could not have seen it at the time. But now I do–I sat down to make this video, and I had so, so many years worth of photographs from which I could choose…so many sunsets…so many pictures that signified friendship…so many pictures that said “beauty”…photographs of San Francisco. It was all just there, waiting to be pulled together into this one video made on this one day. I have wanted to do something with retreats, have wanted to do an e-course, have wanted to be a full-time coach–all of this wanting, and it seems to me that now was the right time. It even seems to me that the choices I made that lead up to this decision were perfect–for instance, I took on an extra course this semester when it was offered to me at the last minute, and as soon as the first day arrived I was cursing this decision. Why did I take on the extra course? Why didn’t I just teach two classes, so I’d have less going on?

But this, too, was perfect just as it was. It pushed me to a new point of burnout–and subsequently, of clarity–that then pushed me to ask what wasn’t working and then to be willing to grow and step towards something that was working.

And with Mondo Beyondo, and the inspiration that came from that? Some friends of ours were having a going away party, and dear Laurie Wagner was there, and she was telling me about being excited for the course to start. I felt this pang of envy, like, “Darn! I missed out on that!” and then I was moved to email Andrea and ask if I could get in on this last-minute. She agreed (thank you!) and it was a great experience…which lead to meeting other people who have been helping me along the way.

There is a sense of the continuum, of it all just being right for right now. Sometimes with this energy and inspiration I notice myself going into a space of wanting to do one more thing, then one more thing, then another, and it’s really great to keep stepping back from that…

…because this train is rolling, baby. It’s off. It has started. I gave it a push and now I can give myself the gift of not lashing lashing lashing out of fear. Instead, I just get to enjoy the ride.

**Popping back into just tell all of you how completely blessed I feel in this moment to have friends who would say this, and to share the love by saying what an amazing, true, heartfelt person I think Vivienne is…she is all soul!