sanctuary

Breathe. Be. Allow. Align. Let go. Trust. Receive.

These are the feelings that come to mind when I think about sanctuary but how often do I actually feel this way in any particular place?

A sanctuary is a distinct feeling. You know when you have entered one.

I remember entering my daughter's private school for children with language based challenges and feeling this sense of sanctuary.

I entered into the large and spacious foyer and felt an immediate shift from what I was feeling in the outside world.

The air is different.

There's quiet.

Not an eery-kind of quiet but an - I-can-breathe- kind of quiet.

The kind of quiet that, for a person who is sensitive to the noise and overstimulation of the outside world, felt so good.

The kind of quiet where you can see a friend in the hallway and be able to say hi, but not just hi, to be able to have a lovely conversation with them because you can actually hear what they have to say.

The kind of quiet where your nervous system can reset itself. There was no fight or flight or freeze response needed.

It was the kind of quiet that felt peaceful.

And there was reverence.

Reverence for each student who walked those hallways.

Reverence for the learning environment that was conducive to helping these kids find their sense of self-worth after being in schools that saw them as less than capable, trying to fit into a one-size-fits-all curriculum.

Reverence for each child's innate ability to learn and the knowingness that these children are more than capable.

And there was sacredness.

The kind of sacred where you can be seen by someone else and feel honored to be in their presence.

The kind of sacred that values everyone's unique learning style, personality and way of being.

The kind of sacred that all of us need to experience in our everyday lives.

Have you ever felt this kind of sanctuary?

I invite you to notice where you feel this sense of sanctuary.

Explore places that may provoke in you this feeling - a museum, a church, some quiet place in nature.

Notice the feelings.

The way your body relaxes into the moment.

The softening of your body, mind and spirit.

The peace that settles over you.

It's this sense of sanctuary that we will be bringing into the spaces we create.

Get to know it and allow it to guide you as we move forward.

With Much Love,

Maria