Inner Sanctuary
/“Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can return at any time and be yourself.”
This quote from Hermann Hesse was scripted on a poster I had as a teenager that pictured a woman smelling flowers superimposed on a beautiful meadow. I mounted the poster on the wall across from a rocking chair in my bedroom. I felt a deep reassurance from the quote and it served as a salve for my soul on days of teenage angst. The poster and quote still hang on the wall of my memory and that chair and space has become a sanctuary within me, a place I can return to at any time and be myself; a place that has endured in me and bridges the teen years to the golden years.
I am reminded of a quote from the song, "Return to Pooh Corners:"
“It’s hard to explain how a few precious things seem to follow throughout our whole lives.”
My mother enjoyed painting on ceramic. She attended classes where participants painted the surface of pre-made ceramic pieces and the painting was baked on. One day, she brought home a squirrel and gave it to me. My first pet as a child was a squirrel that, unfortunately, had died. This ceramic substitute served as the doorstop on my bedroom door throughout my childhood. I still have that little squirrel and it still serves as the doorstop on my bedroom door!
Many of us have some things like this, some things that live in us or that we carry with us over the years and that provide a kind of spiritual or personal support. Kenny Loggins' song refers to a pooh bear that he had as a child and that he gave to his son. For some, it may be a photograph or a song or a family heirloom. It may be a memory as with my memory of the Hermann Hesse quote on a wall poster.
What is on your list of the precious things that follow throughout your whole life?
What is on your list of the precious things that follow throughout your whole life?
This Post is part of a series on Questions To Ask Yourself. To find other posts associated with this series, simply click the tag, Questions, at the bottom of this post.
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