Blending soulful insight, dry wit, and hard-earned real-world wisdom, these articles offer more than just feel-good inspiration — they’re field guides for anyone who’s found themselves standing at a crossroads or stuck in a life crisis. Whether you’re navigating an empty nest, a career change, a major loss, or just a nagging sense that your life needs a rewrite, you’ll find thoughtful guidance, gentle provocation, and the occasional laugh — all aimed at helping you rediscover clarity, reclaim your purpose, and set off in a new, more aligned direction.
- The Best Decisions Are Slow Decisions
Whenever I’m facing an important decision, there’s one thing I’ve learned to avoid. Rushing into anything. Urgency has a wonderfully convincing voice. It whispers that you need to decide today. That if you don’t act immediately, you’ll miss your chance. Everyone else seems to know what they’re doing, so why are you still hesitating? It … - A Retreat Should Leave You Wanting More, Not Needing Another Holiday
One of the biggest surprises I had as a retreat guest was discovering that even something designed to restore you can leave you feeling utterly exhausted. It sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? After all, a retreat is supposed to be restful. It’s where we go to escape the busyness of everyday life, to breathe …Continue reading “A Retreat Should Leave You Wanting More, Not Needing Another Holiday”
- The Journey Home Is Part of the Retreat
. Lessons I Learned as a Retreat Guest The most important part of a retreat sometimes begins after it’s over When I first started going on retreats, I assumed the retreat ended when everyone hugged goodbye, exchanged email addresses they fully intended to use, and wheeled their suitcases towards the cars. The official programme was … - Reinvention Isn’t Starting Over
If you’ve ever wandered through an old European town, you’ll know that some of the most beautiful buildings have lived several lives. A medieval merchant’s house becomes a bookshop. A monastery becomes a hotel. An old barn, with weathered beams and stone walls polished by centuries of hands, becomes a family home. You can still … - On Not Earning Your Keep
What a herd of small horses taught me about my worth There is a particular kind of guilt that only strikes you while doing absolutely nothing, and I would like to report that I have perfected it. Lying in a hammock. Reading a novel at two in the afternoon on a Tuesday. Watching Loki doze … - The Silent Courage Nobody Applauds
. When we think of courage, we tend to appreciate dramatic events. We picture firefighters running into burning buildings. Mountain climbers battling the elements. Athletes pushing through pain. Explorers setting sail towards distant horizons. Courage, we assume, is loud. It arrives with fanfare, newspaper headlines and standing ovations. Yet I suspect the greatest acts of … - Anticipating the Start of a Retreat
. Lessons I Learned as a Retreat Guest When I think back to the retreats I’ve attended over the years, I remember the beautiful walks, the interesting conversations or the moments of quiet that somehow made the world feel a little less complicated. But what I remember most vividly is how I felt before I … - I’ve Made a Mess of My Life
. One of the saddest sentences I hear, way too often, is: “I think I’ve made a mess of my life.” It’s rarely said for dramatic effect. More often, it arrives quietly over a cup of coffee that’s gone cold, while someone stares out of the window as though the answer might be hiding in … - The Camino de Santiago Doesn’t Change People. It Creates the Conditions for Change.
. . Spend any time reading about the Camino de Santiago, and you’ll soon come across stories of life-changing experiences. People find themselves. They discover their purpose. They return home transformed. Having hosted Camino de Santiago walking retreats in southwest France for many years, along the historic Le Puy route, I have no doubt that … - The Lies Society Tells Us About Success
. I don’t think success is the problem. I think our definition of success is. Most of us inherit our ideas about what a successful life looks like long before we’re old enough to question them. We absorb them from our parents, our teachers, advertising, social media and well-meaning friends. Get good grades. Find a … - How Walking Helps Untangle Thoughts That Talking Never Did
. One of the things that has surprised me most since I began hosting Camino de Santiago walking retreats is how often people tell me, “I just needed some time out to think.” Not advice. Not answers. Not someone to tell them what they should do next. Just time out. This might sound strange coming …Continue reading “How Walking Helps Untangle Thoughts That Talking Never Did”
- Stop trying to “Find Yourself.” You’re not lost
Everywhere you look, someone is promising to help you “find yourself.” I’m so fed up with that. It’s become one of those expressions we barely question. We say it after a divorce, before a career change, during a gap year or when someone announces they’re off travelling with a backpack and a vague itinerary. “I …Continue reading “Stop trying to “Find Yourself.” You’re not lost”
- Family Secrets and The Letter That Was Never Read
. The Wordweavers, my writing group, meets tomorrow. This month’s prompt is “the letter that was never read/sent.” Definitely a prompt that I’m going to use during my next Writing and Walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela retreats. The letter turned up where all the best secrets do: behind a drawer that didn’t quite …Continue reading “Family Secrets and The Letter That Was Never Read”
- Office Drama in Four Acts
There’s a particular kind of tired that has nothing to do with sleep. It’s the tiredness that comes from lugging something around — a decision, a conversation you haven’t had yet, a truth you’re not sure is yours to tell — folded up small enough to fit in a pocket, but never quite small enough … - Why Some of Your Best Thinking Happens While You’re Walking
Have you ever noticed that some problems shrink once you start walking? The problem itself hasn’t changed. The difficult conversation still needs to happen. The diagnosis hasn’t disappeared. Your bank account hasn’t magically recovered. Yet somewhere between the first few hundred metres and the next bend in the path, your mind begins to loosen its …Continue reading “Why Some of Your Best Thinking Happens While You’re Walking”
- Nature Doesn’t Solve Our Problems. It Changes Our Perspective.
. It would make wonderful marketing if I could tell you that spending two days walking the Camino de Santiago will solve all your problems. Unfortunately, it won’t. You may still have a difficult boss, a challenging marriage, an uncertain retirement, grown-up children who insist on making their own questionable decisions, and a tax return …Continue reading “Nature Doesn’t Solve Our Problems. It Changes Our Perspective.”
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Author Bio: Dr Margaretha Montagu – described as a “game changer”, “gifted healer”, “guiding light” and “life-enriching author” – is an experienced medical doctor, a certified NLP practitioner, a medical hypnotherapist, an equine-assisted psychotherapist (EAGALAcertified) and a transformational retreat leader who guides her clients through life transitions – virtually, or with the assistance of her Friesian and Falabella horses, at their home in the southwest of France.