This retreat is a time for me to step back from my usual routine of everyday living. It needs to be planned in advance. I choose a suitable day when, leaving aside my usual concerns, I can instead go apart in some way and into real quiet. I find a space where I can be alone and become more aware of God’s loving presence - maybe outside in the garden; maybe sitting, standing or kneeling in a “prayer corner” in my room or elsewhere in the house; maybe in a church or chapel.  I switch off my mobile phone, the radio and TV, anything that might interfere with the silence and solitude where I meet God. “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10). I slow down. Today is not for doing but for being: I make no effort to achieve, to ‘catch up’ or get things done. I just become aware, listening to hear what message God has for me personally.