Do you ever feel the need to escape? I know I do. Yesterday, when I was scrambling to create the perfect Christmas atmosphere, my stress level soared through the roof. I’d tried to plan and prepare, but sometimes life catches up with me anyway. When it does, and I’m drowning in a flood of errands and everyone around me clamors for my attention, I’ve simply got to get away. To escape the noise of life and seek out solitude so I can regain my balance. Or simply relax with no one demanding dinner or asking where they left their tennis shoes.
In Eighth Grade Bites, the first book of the Vladimir Todd chronicles, Vlad creates such a space. It’s high in an abandoned clock tower that only he can reach due to his vampiric ability to fly. He lights it with stubs of candles and fills it with sentimental things—a framed photograph of his dead father, some banned books, and a photo album. This is the only place where he really lets down his guard, where he grieves the loss of his family.
Vlad’s tower sanctuary is a little more secluded than most of us can hope to find. But we can create our own space in other ways. In my house, we call it quiet time. Mom needs quiet time a lot. My family knows it makes me a better person (less likely to tear through the house mumbling like a madwoman and pulling out my hair).
I find sanctuary not in a specific location, but in the times when I can turn my eyes inward, take a deep breath, and relax. One of my favorite places to do this is outside, hiking through the woods. But the quiet of my room works just as well, although it’s a bit more risky. Enthusiastic or fighting kiddos tend to forget and burst in. But over the years, the phrase, “Mom’s having quiet time” has come to be understood, not as a rejection, but as a temporary interruption that results in a much funner and more patient Mom.
My oldest daughter, Amanda, recently discovered the joys of sanctuary. She’s so social that she never thought she needed it. But anyone can benefit from solitude and reflection. For some it comes in the form of prayer. For others, meditation. Or it might be found through music.
Virgina Woolf refers to the need for a room of one’s own, the title of her famous book, citing it as a prerequisite for creative writing. A little privacy and a chance for contemplation can benefit us all. According to the Mayo Clinic, meditation can increase self-awareness, build coping skills, reduce negative emotions, and help people manage health problems ranging from asthma to depression.
With that in mind, I suggest we all carve out a little time or space in our lives where we can recharge before jumping back into the rush that all too often is modern life.
Where is your sanctuary? In your home, in nature or somewhere else? What treasures do you keep there? What music or lighting sets the tone for you to escape the turmoil of the world?
