In Ca La Somara, while enjoying every last second of Joanna and Emma’s writing retreat, I’ve also learned some extremely important lessons. Some from the people I’ve shared the experience with, some from people who we’ve share the agriturismo with, some from reconnecting with myself, each of them meant to help me live a better life, be happier, smile more and generally remember what’s really worthwhile. I keep thinking of everything that’s happened, trying to pick the best of it and share it with you, hoping it will bring you the calm, happiness and freedom it has brought me. So here are a few ideas

People are indeed unique, but…

We are not defined by class, religion, nationality, interests, education, or job alone. None of these aspects is more important than the others and what makes us unique is their specific mix. Plus our dreams, favorite songs, favorite food, friends, family, pets, our take on having fun and any other apparently insignificant detail you can think of.

No one can save you from your current self

If you hate your job, hate your life, hate your industry or hate your friends, if any of these make you unhappy, you need to change it! No one else will do it for you. Don’t wait to be rescued, take responsibility and change your life. You’ll be happier afterwards!

Angry and resentful people are not that bad, really

They might offend you at a certain point; they might ruin part of your evening, but in the end you’ll just appreciate those you love and feel comfortable with more. You’ll appreciate the fact you’re no longer angry and resentful. You’ll appreciate the full live you’re living.

Fear is indeed the mind killer!

For the rest of your Dune groupies, yes, that’s a Bene Gesserit mantra! I couldn’t wait to get to Sardinia, meet Joanna, Emma and see who else would join us. But I took my fear with me. The fear I could no longer write. The fear I was a fool to write in a language to write in without being a native speaker. It made me doubt myself, my novel and a lot of other things about me.

The moment I faced my fears, everything changed! I felt liberated, happier, empowered and stronger. Yes, the positive feedback would do that to you! But even if it would have been awfully negative feedback, it would have been a lot better than a life in doubt and fear.

Stress is the modern plague!

I have some health issues caused by some bile functionality problems. I’m on a more or less constant diet, I can’t drink alcohol and my food choices are limited. I also gain weight when stress surpasses certain limits. So I want to Sardinia, ate everything you could think (to the horror of some Italian women thinking we were eating too much) of and drank a lot of red wine (as I don’t usually drink alcohol at all, please don’t imagine lots of bottles of wine lined up under my table ). My health was impeccable, I didn’t gain any weight and I generally felt awesome.

There’s pressure in finding yourself in the best conditions to yield inspiration!

Everything might be perfect, and you still might not feel inspired. The most important thing you can do is write. Write about how uninspired you are, how annoyed you are by it, what you would want to write about, what prevents you from actually doing it. It works! Ask Joanna, she wrote an incredibly inspired poem about being uninspired.

More to come soon!

Caveat! If my stories on Sardinia seem to lack structure, feel a bit unprocessed, it’s because our week there was extremely intense and full . But I’ll make sure you get a clear picture of it all!

Friends and family ask me about Sardinia. How was it, what did I learn? Any fun moments to share? When I hear the question, a big smile lights up my face. And I can’t stop smiling while I tell my stories again and again. It was wonderful, amazing, intense, too short, filled with laughter and sharing and emotions, it was sunny and windy, it was private and it was shared, it was better than anything I’ve even imagined when I first mentioning I’d go there!

But I somehow feel they can’t fully understand it. Such an experience needs to be embraced (Joanna and Emma, did you think of who I think you did when you saw this word? ), seen, heard, taken in with every breath. I’ve enjoyed each moment of it so much, that I actually cried when I found myself alone in the cab, going to the Olbia airport. I haven’t done that after a trip since high-school! Incidentally, it was another trip to Italy.

Joanna Young is everything you imagine her to be when reading her blog, tweets and comments. And much more. Same goes for Emma Bird. These lovely ladies are, in a word, amazing. But a word is never enough to describe someone, is it? Nor are twenty, or a hundred. Ca La Somara is the perfect place for such a retreat. Peaceful, but never really silent. Bright and sunny, but with a cool, constant breeze. Sardinia is alive and the skyline is indeed dramatic. Beaches are hard to find, the more beautiful they are, the harder to find they become. The food is amazing, the massages are just right, the restaurants are welcoming and again, great food. The read wine is exquisite and I should know, I’ve drunk during this week more than I normally do in a year.

We had donkeys, dogs and cats. We had incredible people to share everything with. We had confident, absorbing, surprising, deep words scribbled on paper, be it real or virtual. We had screenplays and novels and poems and songs. We made some wonderful friends along the way. We also ran into the usual sad, angry and judgemental few. But we ignored them! We experienced the famous transportation strikes but talked our way into a refund and went to the competition. We laughed so hard and for so long, one would have said we’re making stacks to last us a year.

In the next few days, I’ll try to show you as best I can what this Sardinian Writing Retreat was about. I’ll share what I’ve learned about myself and the world, I’ll share the dreams and fears I’ve taken there with me, and the new dreams and hopes I’ve come back with. There will be photos, the occasional inside jokes and lots, lots of happiness! Make sure you tune in!

I will be in Sardinia, enjoying Joana Young‘s and Emma Bird‘s company and meeting interesting new people. The place is perfect to get inspired, relaxed and in the right mood to learn. It’s easy to find out how excited I am about this Writing Retreat: just ask my family, my friends and my colleagues, they all know of every little detail in my trip plan.

I got the plane tickets, arranged for rides to and from Bucharest’s Otopeni Airport, I’ve let my clients know I’ll be emailing them from Sardinia. I’m ready for my share of confident and absorbing writing.

Where will you be in May? Will you join us this time? Will you be coming next time? I’m making it my mission to tell you everything about the retreat. I know I’ll love it and that my experience will be contagious! Keep an eye on this blog for details!

I’m planning to cover the trip there, details on the region, my efforts to write better, the progress on my vampire novel (which I’ve already completely restarted 3 times already), profiles of the wonderful people I’ll share the retreat with, writing tips and tricks and more. If there is something in particular you’d like me to know, if you’d like to get a postcard from Sardinia, just let me know. I’ll do my best to get your questions asnwered!

Photo credit Wikipedia