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Today's
Meditation:
Sanctuary--what
a nice word that is. A sanctuary is a place where we
can rest, where we can escape the stress and strife of the
world in which we live, where we can feel at ease and
breathe deeply and relax. And what Herman Hesse is
saying is that we all have such a place within ourselves,
accessible when we need it, wherever we happen to be,
whatever we happen to be doing.
Have you ever felt what it's like to walk into a quiet,
protected place where you feel completely safe, and where
the peace of the place seems to enter into your very
spirit? That sort of peace is something that we can
access at any time, but it takes an inward focus instead
of an outward focus. We need to take the time and
make the effort to get in touch with ourselves, to respect
ourselves, to love ourselves, rather than trying to find
peace from outside of ourselves.
It doesn't take meditating for hours in the lotus
position. It doesn't take fasting or
self-deprivation. It doesn't take years and years of
practice. All it takes is a desire to go inside of
yourself and find the place of stillness that can help you
in many different situations. It takes a bit of
practice to find a place for yourself and in yourself in
which you're protected from the many things in the world
that may be tossing you about like a leaf in a storm.
And in that place, when you find it and every time you go
there after you find it, you can be yourself. You
don't have to prove yourself to anyone else, you don't
need to impress anyone else, you don't need to meet anyone
else's expectations. It certainly is a beautiful
place to be, and well worth the effort of learning how to
get there.
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