Header Logo
HOME ABOUT
WORK WITH DI
Thrive Lifestyle Community Great Minds Pods Great Minds Executive Mastermind
EVENTS RETREATS BLOG CONTACT LOGIN
← Back to all posts

There's Power in Creating Space

by Di Russell
Mar 21, 2026
Connect

When was the last time you really stopped … and created space for yourself?

I don’t mean a pause for a cuppa…
or just taking a day off (to catch up on chores).

When - if ever - have you truly stepped back from everything - 
the noise, the doing, the constant holding of it all?

To just pause, reflect and reconnect with what’s important for you.

Almost 10 years ago now, I did exactly that.

♡

I was almost 50 years old, in the middle of a big change in my life and I stopped everything for a week.

I stepped back from everything and everyone and silenced the noise of the day-to-day.

I’d felt like I'd wanted to do it for a very long time - but could never quite make it happen.

The opportunity to attend a Retreat was beckoning.

I knew I wanted to go.

But I had a lot going on—there always had been.

There’s never a ‘good’ time,

And I knew…if I didn’t take the opportunity then, when would I?

I just wanted to stop, ‘get off the bus’ of life for a while and get clear on where to from here.

♡

Have you ever had that awareness?

You know there are things that matter to you…
but they keep getting pushed to the back of the list.

♡

When I made the decision to go on that first retreat, I felt a mix of emotions.

Relief.
Excitement.
And a quiet layer of uncertainty.

I’d never done anything like it before.

It felt like a big investment… in me.
In space.

And I remember wondering - what will this actually be like?

It remains one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Was it challenging? Yes.

But if you’ve ever gone for a walk and come back feeling clearer…
lighter…
more yourself…

It was all of that.

And so much more.

♡

That’s why, each year since 2017, I’ve held The Beautiful Retreat with this same intention.

To give people with full lives a place to stop.
Create space.
And be nurtured while they reflect and reconnect.

Because most people aren’t lacking direction…
or ideas…
or even desire.

They’re just … full.

Full of doing.
Full of thinking.
Full of holding.

♡

I truly believe this —

Creating time and space isn’t a luxury.

It’s part of the creative process of your life.

It’s where you get still.
Where things settle.
Where you remember what actually matters for you.

♡

I shared a simple post recently about walking.

How so many of history’s thinkers and creators - 
Henry David Thoreau, Aristotle, Albert Einstein, Ludwig van Beethoven - 
used walking as a way to pause, to reflect, to reconnect.

And I love that.

But it’s not really about the walking.

It’s about what the walking creates.

Space.

Sometimes, a walk is enough.

And sometimes…

we need to step a little further away.

To put a few things down.
To breathe.
To recalibrate.

To come back to yourself, without interruption.

The Beautiful Retreat exists for this exact reason -

Not to fix anything in you.

But to create the space for what’s already within you… to rise.

If this speaks to you, I’ll share a little more below.

And if not…

maybe this is simply your reminder to take a walk today.

You might be surprised what’s waiting for you there.

With much love,
Di ♡

 

A place to step out… and come back to yourself

The Beautiful Retreat | 15–18 May 2026 is a small, intimate experience (just 5 people), designed for those who are ready to step away from the noise and create real space.

There’s no pressure.
Nothing to perform.
Nothing to fix.

Just time, space, beautiful surroundings, and gentle guidance to help you pause, reflect and reconnect with what matters.

There are currently a few places available.

If you feel drawn, you can explore The Beautiful Retreat here.

Or simply reply to this email if you’d like to have a quiet conversation first.

 

 

 

 

Responses

Join the conversation
t("newsletters.loading")
Loading...
Returning to Yourself
Just today I came across a piece of writing one of my daughters sent me a few years ago. She’d written an account of her thoughts and observations leading into an interaction we’d had a year after I began a new chapter in my life. Reading it again stirred my emotion, and my gratitude, for what she’d delivered to me that day. The account of events she’d written about was true. What hit me was ho...
Why Does This Keep Happening?
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to become consumed by something you don't want? It could be a problem you’re experiencing now, A situation you’re dreading,A person you don’t enjoying working with,A ‘what if’ scenario…. It crowds out your thinking. You discuss it over and over in your own head - and with anyone who’ll listen, You analyse it to death - pro’s and con’s, ‘what if’ this, ‘what ...
Will you allow it?
Can you remember being so excited as a child that you could barely sit still? That feeling of anticipation — it coloured everything around you, and you felt the lift inside you. As adults, it happens too… though perhaps, like me, you experience it a little differently now. This week, I had a restlessness I initially found quite annoying. I couldn’t seem to focus… but I didn’t feel like resting ...

Eyes Wide Open. A little insight; a lot of life.

A regular delivery of insight and practices delivered straight to your inbox. For people who want to live fully - not one day, but today. A bit of soul, a bit of sass, and a load of permission to be yourself.
Footer Logo
PRIVACY POLICY TERMS OF SERVICE RETURNS