The Joy of a Sanctuary

We all need a place to retreat to – on our own – to calm and restore

A tiny spot in our garden – perfect for soaking in some sunshine and a cool glass of sun tea

Dear Colorful Friend,
The older I get, the more convinced I am of the importance of having multiple Sanctuaries – places in and around your home that you can retreat to, to calm and restore and provide balance to the chaotic demands of your busy life.

The beauty is, your Sanctuaries don't have to be elaborate or exotic!

I created this simple sanctuary in a nook by the window – a handmade felt coaster and colorful glass full of water or wine – that's it. Now all I have to do is kick up my feet and gaze out the window at raindrops or birds splashing in the birdbath. Voila! my heart rate and breathing slow, I can feel tension dripping off my shoulders and I'm smiling.

My secret – I give myself permission to sit and do nothing here, whether it's for five minutes or an hour.

Would you like to Create/Enhance your Sanctuaries?

Here is an excerpt from Seek Beauty • Create Joy

Joyful Place Versus Sanctuary

There are so many places you might include if you sit back and make a list of your Joyful places – happy locations or experiences drawn up from past experience, memories of vacations, exotic lands, fun times spent with other people. These are all very valuable and provide the sparkle in life. However, though every Sanctuary should be a Joyful place, not every Joyful place is a Sanctuary.

The key to a Sanctuary is that it is a refuge, a place you can retreat to – on your own – to be in your own thoughts, to fill your own cup. And hopefully at least one of your Sanctuaries is a place you can easily access on a daily basis.

Oh, and something else – in order to keep our Sanctuaries as places of refuge, you need to honor them, keep them tidy, and only home to those things that bring you Joy.

Now is the time to seek out your Sanctuary space, tidy it up, and give yourself permission to be in it, because spending time in your Sanctuary is one of the keys to creating Joy each day!

Let's Create a Sanctuary!

My guess is that you probably already have a Sanctuary (or more than one) but perhaps you don’t think of it that way… yet. Or maybe you do, but feel guilty about spending time ‘doing nothing’. Or maybe your Sanctuary has become cluttered and forgotten under piles of your busy life. Let’s fix that!

List as many of your Sanctuary places as come to mind

In your journal, list as many places as you can think of that feel like a Sanctuary to you, places that are comfortable, that feel restorative when you’re on your own. Include places you visited as well as everyday places in your home, and outside in nature. If you haven’t consciously thought about a Sanctuary near you, now is the time. Perhaps it’s simply a chair by the window; or a floor cushion in front of the fireplace; maybe it’s outside looking up into a tree; or on the back of your bike; in a patch of sunshine in the garden; or in the corner of a cafe… Your Sanctuaries don’t have to be exotic, it’s more important that they are accessible to you.

Make them accessible:

Seek out at least one Sanctuary in each segment of your daily routine.
Make sure you have a Sanctuary at home, a Sanctuary at work, a Sanctuary while you are traveling to and from, a Sanctuary on your lunch break.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be in the center of a lush nursery surrounded by rushing water (though of course it would be lovely if we could carry that around everywhere we go.) It might be as simple as a book on your mobile device that you can retreat into during a break in the day. It could be a view out of the window while you walk between your cubicle and the bathroom at work. Or a scenic road you take to work, in leiu of the highway. It could be huge, it could be tiny. It could be something that you create, or something that someone else has provided for you.

Honor your Sanctuary

Is your Sanctuary wonderful just as it is?

Or is it cluttered with things that make you feel stressed or anxious? If so, and if it’s your space to control, take a few moments to tidy it up. (Of course, if clutter makes you happy – then bring it on!)

Is there something you can add to make it more special? Perhaps bring in a lovely vase to hold flowers, or pencils. Grab a tall glass of water, or a mug of coffee, cup of tea or glass of wine. A soft pillow, a piece of art, a colorful blanket, a delectable book.

Spend time in your Sanctuary

Now it’s time to give yourself permission to spend time in your sanctuary!

You may be able to spend an hour here, or only 30 seconds. No matter the size or how long you have, the act of finding these sanctuaries, and acknowledging them will already infuse you with a sense of calm. Now add to that some deep slow breaths and you’ve just given yourself a shot of Joy!

In your journal describe your Sanctuary in as much detail as you can (try writing Stream-of-consciousness):

Where is it
What does it look like
What’s in your hands
What does it feel like to touch
How does it smell
What does the air feel like on your face
What sounds do you hear
Do you taste anything
How do you feel when you are in it

I would love to hear from you – tell me about your Sanctuary!
Beverly