La Balsa is not just a place I happened to find.
It is a place where something that has lived within me for much longer has come together.
For years, I longed for a way of life with more space, nature, silence and simplicity. A place where I could stay closer to myself and where life was less dictated by everything that had to be done.
In Belgium, I had House of Being, my practice where I guided people. At its heart, it was about the same longing: slowing down, being present, and discovering what remains when you step out of your story for a while.
When I came to Andalusia, I found something I had experienced in other places before, but now in a much wider and deeper way.
Every time I came to La Balsa, something happened.
I felt a little closer to myself.
I saw things more clearly.
I found it easier to let go of my stories and simply be.
The place gave me, time and again, the nourishment I needed to move forward in my life. Slowly, this became more deeply rooted within me, and I began to experience La Balsa as a kind of grounding presence in my life.
So I wasn’t simply looking for a casa rural.
I was looking for a place where I could welcome people, because I believe many people know this same longing.
A place where you can step away from the busyness for a while.
Where you can slow down.
Where nothing is required.
And where you might once again feel what has been there all along, beneath all the thoughts, expectations and stories.
La Balsa existed before I came here.
The tree was already there.
But I began to care for it.
I got to know the place, cared for it and, little by little, gave it something of my own spirit. Not to turn it into something it wasn’t, but rather to make space for what was already here.
The landscape is my greatest teacher in this.
The mountains, the silence, the space, the simplicity.
Without this landscape, La Balsa could not be what it is today.
And somewhere along the way, my longing for a place to come home to myself became a longing to share that place with others as well.
That is why you are welcome here.
As a guest.
As a participant in a retreat.
As an organiser of a group.
Or simply as someone who wants to slow down and enjoy a few days away.
And perhaps, just like me, you will discover that you don’t always need to be looking for something.
Sometimes you only need to step out of your story for a while.
And be.
Welcome as you are.
With love,
Els