"I picked a tip of lavender, raised it to my face and inhaled deeply through my nose. On the horizon, the barely visible town of Montalcino squinted back at me from above a landscape that, softened by the haze of woodsmoke, had the unwrinkled flow of silk. The only sounds were birdsong and the air as it fizzed through the darkened silhouettes of nearby cypress trees. The quiet was almost unnerving."
"I needn't worry, I thought: this was Tuscany in early spring. But the truth is, I was worried about this trip: a long-weekend life coaching retreat with six strangers in a remote villa near Siena. A kind of social in-betweener, I'm not shy but I'm not an instinctive talker either. And I can often surprise myself: at times something close to extroversion, at others an encircling, irrational quietness. Which version of me would turn up, I wondered."
"As the group gingerly assembled in a herb garden, some of us seated on candy-striped day beds, I read the room: creatives, probably, sensitive types, my kind. Slowly we began talking softly, each answering the same question: why are you here? "Since Covid, being fully freelance, at my age, I feel a bit... well, it's harder to connect, isn't it?" I said, tiptoeing around the point. "I suppose you could say... I'm lonely.""
A small group gathered for a long-weekend life-coaching retreat at a remote villa near Siena, surrounded by lavender, cypress and woodsmoke-softened hills. Participants confronted nervousness about social identity, freelance isolation after Covid, and fluctuating confidence. Guided conversation and informal moments eased guardedness and encouraged candid admissions about loneliness. The retreat prioritized reconnection and community through shared activities and attentive facilitation. Kitchen conversations and group sessions gradually built warmth and mutual support. The combination of setting, peer sharing, and coaching aimed to reduce dislocation and foster lasting social ties and clearer self-understanding.
Read at Conde Nast Traveler
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