Home Sweet Home…
Look around you. If you are at home reading Om Times and Silver Threads, take a moment to pause and take a good look at your surroundings. Without judging right or wrong, are you satisfied with what you see? If the answer is yes, then congratulate yourself for being well on your way to living your life successfully. Offer gratitude at the end of the day for the delight and peace that surrounds you. If you are satisfied, be sure not to take for granted the strength of the walls that surround and protect you, the beauty and availability of your décor, ‘tap’ water, the food that graces your table and so much more. Also, remember to offer thanks to and for the family that shares all this goodness with you!
On the other hand, if you are looking about with sadness, regret, frustration, or despair, you can change that! Take stock of what is surrounding you. What does not ‘sit’ right, feel comfortable or ring true for you? Look at whatever it is with an investigative and discerning eye. Ask yourself the following questions: When did ‘it’ become a part of your life? Who were you at that time? Might you have evolved and grown since that time? Could your discomfort be a sign that as you change, your surroundings are not reflecting your transformation?
Think of it this way – once upon a time your hair hung long and maybe even wavy, you wore tassels and bangles with baggy bell-bottoms and sandals. Or, you wore a skirt that never quite measured six inches, clodhopper shoes and tons of black eye makeup. If you were to continue with either of these modes of fashion would it fit into the form of who you are today? Probably not! It would not resonate with the knowledge you have gained through both education and life, growth you have experienced, or the inner work you practice each and every day.
Now, apply that same picture to your dwelling place. How would it feel for your home to reflect your growth and accomplishment over the recent past? Imagine arriving at your humble abode at the end of the work day, being able to gather together those you love the most in the world (whether with you or in spirit), express a sigh; experience a safe and harbored feeling, poke a little fun, laugh at the world and let go. This is a description of a nurturing sanctuary. It matters not whether those you gather are people or pets. What counts is that your home is truly a reflection of who you are.
A Little Work To Do…
If you are not coming home to the above noted place, you have some work to do. It may be in the form of clearing piles of clutter; it may lie in the need to heal relationships, or, it may be held in the simple act of your meditating and reflecting on that which you need and then taking baby steps to reorganize; recreate or restructure your shelter into a haven of tranquility and serenity. Now that is nurturing! And just in time for the approaching holidays.
