A Sanctuary Love Letter
This week my mom came to stay with my husband Philip and I. Usually I spend evenings leading up to her visit bustling around, fixing up the guest room, adding fresh flowers and repotting my house plants.
Trimming and pruning branches, editing my rooms. I look at my spaces with a fresh eye and wonder with bemusement how all of this stuff managed to accumulate everywhere? I wonder how my spice rack got to be such a mess and if she’ll notice that a bomb must’ve gone off in my pantry to create such havoc.
But this year, 2022 has taken off with a gallop and honestly I just didn’t have the bandwidth to go through my normal preparations. I called her and started to apologize before she arrived and she laughed and shushed me. “Honey,” she said, “I don’t come to visit your houseplants. I come to spend time with my baby girl!” I laughed in response and relaxed. Begone perfectionist standards. We’re just trying to keep up over here.
My writing today is posting a little bit later than usual because my mom and I have been having such fun talking, patrolling the consignment stores, lingering over lunch at a new Thai restaurant and just soaking in the time together. Such a blessing.
I woke up today thinking about how certain people are able to bring a sense of sanctuary with them, wherever they go. My mom is one of those people. She shows up and I breathe more deeply. She does little things so casually and naturally as she moves through my home — breaking dead leaves off of the little potted trees flanking my entry, smoothing the pillows on the sofa as she walks by, coming into my room as I’m making my bed, helping me tuck in the blankets. She runs her magical hands over the dogs head and as I watch the look of bliss on his face, I remember how I felt growing up, when she would tuck wayward hairs behind my ears and rub my back. I remember silently wishing she would never stop.
If the past two years have taught me anything, it’s that the path of life is unpredictable and we need to utilize the tools we have available to help us respond with grace and equanimity. Sanctuary is one of those tools. In my world, it is THE tool, but I find it fascinating to think about sanctuary in human form.
The goal of creating sanctuary in the spaces around us is to help us develop a sanctuary deep inside us, one that we can carry with us wherever we go. My mom embodies the energy of sanctuary, carries it inside her and shares it with other people. Does she realize she does that? I don’t really know. But I’ll tell you that I am inspired by her. I want to be sanctuary in the world, shining a light, spreading peacefulness and love.
My mom’s visit reminded me that sanctuary is the embodiment of love in our environments. We carry that love in our hearts, we share it with our hands and smiles, and we infuse the people and places around us with it. We can be vehicles of sanctuary — we can be sanctuary in human form. Join me?
With love and gratitude,
Lisa