The Fifth Season- Mark Nepo

About the One-Day Retreat

As the years go by, the question for each of us becomes more and more real: What does it mean to age? Despite the limitations that come as the body wears down, there are many gifts to inhabit as we age. So much is gained and so much is shed along the way.

Now in his seventies, poet and philosopher Mark Nepo explores the rhythms of aging in the second half of life. More than ever, we are called to live a creative life as we age, which leads us to inhabit what the Chinese call the fifth season, that time in late summer when the glare is gone and only the color of things as they are can reach us.

Based on his book, Mark guides us on an exploration of the second half of life as a turning point, a time of integration and transformation that helps us make sense of our experience. Sharing poems, stories, and metaphors intended to invite you into a heart space in which you can meet yourself and grow, Mark guides us on a quest to feel ever more deeply as we age, to meet in this inner field of presence, where there’s very little left in the way.

All seasons lead to this season, he says, all experiences to this understanding of experience. In truth, we each must face living and dying from the inside of the one life we are given. But we can share the journey, which is the purpose of this retreat, to be a companion in your effort to enter the fifth season of your life.