A Peaceful Santuary

Are you weary & discouraged from trying to keep up with everything you think you need & have to?  This modern life we call 'normal' is not normal at all.  It's not designed to help us have happier or more meaningful lives, or even a more productive one.  Do we really have an option though?  I think we do.

You won't be able to shut out everything, I agree, but you don't have to fight every battle either, especially when they are not your own.  Don't surrender your sanity to someone else's insanity.  You can choose to create a separate peace for yourself.

How do you manage this?  Quite simply, find or create a place to retreat.  A refuge where you can rest and renew yourself before returning to the fray. 

This place could be a comfortable chair in the corner with soft lighting, perhaps some candles burning to the side, and a good book.  Step through the pages to another world, a simpler world, a more peaceful world.

Your retreat could be a long walk in the woods listening to the sounds of nature.  Take along your binoculars and bird watching guide.  Turn your cell phone off, guilt free.  Absorb the ambience.

Your place of retreat will be different from mine, the specifics don't really matter.  As long as the place or activity gives you a chance to unwind, that inspires & challenges you.  Make it beautiful, use it often.

Learn to say 'yes' only to things that matter, and 'no' to whatever gets in the way of that 'yes'.  You will ultimately find yourself more energized and productive.  Peace and calm will settle into your life.  It's a peace worth seeking.