Inspiration Project: Savoring the Moment … and Ketchup Chips

The Inspiration Project is an annual scholarship that enables up to six attorneys and staff to pursue a lifelong dream, inspiration, or experience focused on health, wellness, lifelong learning, or community impact. Sponsored by Seyfarth Life, the initiative launched in 2019 and is the legal industry’s first inspiration-focused employee wellness program designed to increase engagement and enrich the firm's culture. We would like to thank Amy Abeloff, who completed her Inspiration Project in April, and all the participants for agreeing to share their journeys. 

Inspiration Project: Three-Day Yoga and Mindfulness Retreat

Amy Abeloff’s Inspiration Project—a three-day mindfulness retreat at Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada—didn’t exactly start off as a serene, calming experience.

“It was all very last minute. I booked everything three days before, which did not lend itself to wellness and de-stressing. There were no direct flights and getting there was like Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” said Amy, referring to the 1987 hit movie. Amy, an Intellectual Property/Trademark associate in our Los Angeles - Century City office, initially applied for an Inspiration Project in 2020, and like others, had to quickly find a substitute project once COVID-19 restrictions worldwide continued to ease in 2022.

When she finally arrived at the Fairmont Chateau, nested within Banff National Park, Amy said the poignant beauty and majestic backdrop of the Canadian Rockies helped center her. But one special moment, a chance encounter, helped everything click.

“I descended on this special place, and the first person I see is [singer, songwriter] Dave Matthews. That set a high bar for the rest of the retreat because his music spoke to me on so many levels growing up,” Amy said (and yes, she did speak to him). “I thought, 'Okay, now I can settle into this.'”

Amy shares her experience below in her own words (edited for clarity).

For years, I’ve been wanting to go to do this kind of retreat. There was a point in my life, especially during the lockdown, where I was meditating every day, but got away from that as things started to open back up. Then I became pregnant, and that was a whole other experience—wonderful, but not necessarily serene.

I had my daughter in 2021. Now, she’s at an age that allows me to get away for a couple of days. The substitute retreat I found at Lake Louise was exactly what I needed, and it was an incredible experience. The program essentially was about finding peace, being present, and making connections. We spent hours at a time just talking about what it means to be present, how we show up, how to be our most authentic selves, and how to savor life—that was the big takeaway for me.

Finding Peace/Being Present

There were eight of us at the retreat, and the first thing on the agenda was a group welcome, where we got to know each other over a meal. The second and third days started early with yoga, then a quick bite to eat before a group discussion on how to bring more peace and presence into your life. Journaling was a big part of the program, and for one of my first entries I wrote, “I want to show up alert, ready, open, aware, and embracing whatever happens.”

One of the first topics we explored was what comes to mind when someone tells you or you tell yourself to slow down. Some of us saw that as a positive, calming thing. But I wrote the words “lethargic,” and “stopped.”… like slowing down is a bad thing. Looking back, I am surprised that’s what I thought at the time.

We were also given a few “I will” prompts to help with our journaling:

• I will limit…
  I said I will limit my texting and social media, which was probably the hardest for me.
• I will marvel at…
  Lake Louise is one of the most beautiful places from a nature perspective that you can find. Marveling at my surroundings was the easiest to do. I literally had humongous mountains as my views, so I was enveloped by beauty. It was cool to just stare at something in nature. Lake Louise was frozen at that time, so we could go out on the water. Everything was snow covered, and as you walked around the lake, there were beautiful trees and a cross-country ski path.
• I will stay present…
  Usually, this is not easy for me to do on a daily basis, but I was able to stay present and just focus on me. Between sessions, I would hike in the snow, zone out, and just enjoy nature in the quiet. I live in Los Angeles, so anything is quieter than this big, cement city. It was just peaceful and serene at Lake Louise, and really conducive to grounding myself and being able to stay in the moment. 

Another thing we explored was trading time famine—feeling like you have too much to do and not enough time to do it—for time affluence—feeling like you have ample time available on a daily basis. Both impact your reaction to everything. We all have 24 hours in a day, but you may only have five minutes to yourself. It's what you do with those five minutes that can really make a difference to your overall quality of life. So, if we’re experiencing time famine rather than time affluence, we may be spending time on things that don’t really matter.

We learned that meditating, being present, and practicing mindfulness helps. For example, rather than sit and mope and be upset if something's not going your way, instead take a few minutes to reflect on the good things. Sitting in silence—taking deep breaths for those five minutes—is a good way to pause, reflect, and think about what you’re grateful for. It can have a positive impact on the rest of your day.

Gratefulness

Expressing gratitude and gratefulness was a theme that kept coming up during the retreat—especially during those times of sitting in silence and meditating. Thinking about someone you’re grateful for while your eyes are closed lifts your energy. I would think of my daughter and just smile. So, at times during our meditations, we were all sitting around smiling, thinking about someone we were grateful for or who made us happy.

When you smile, it lifts your mood. And happiness is energizing.

Making Connections

We also were asked to adopt a gratitude attitude and write down each day, specific things we were grateful for from the day before.

A huge one for me was the people I met, some who had gone through similar things as me. They were like mentors in that short period of time and great people to bounce ideas off of—especially about things related to motherhood and managing work/life as a parent now and in the future. We had really inspiring conversations, so I was sharing and writing how grateful I was to enjoy a nice walk to talk about things.

I also said I was grateful for my husband for looking after my daughter, so I could attend the retreat in the first place. And I said I was grateful for Seyfarth paying for the opportunity to recharge. And recharged is exactly how I felt when I got back.

On a very Canadian-related note, I said I was grateful for ketchup chips. I was the only American, so my new friends asked if I was familiar with the Canadian snacks.

Of course, I was not, but they were available on site, and I was grateful because they were truly awesome. I later received a care package that included—you guessed it—ketchup chips!