“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at anytime and be yourself.” -Herman Hesse

How peaceful it is to know we always have a place to go. The most important and vital elements of our beings are within. How sacred and intimate this is when we realize that everything that requires most care, cannot be seen by a surface level glance. We are a house to our soul, our mental state and all of our emotions. We carry a home within us. Whether it comes to physical health or emotional health – I choose and continue to focus on the comfort and love I put into my own sanctuary. Finding home within is essential, it’s ours and it’s time to own it.

We are our own place of safety, comfort and light. We allow what affects the energy weaving in and releasing. We are walking with a haven beneath our form. Are we making it a safe place to be? A place we would wish to visit? A comfort we crave? Does it feel like a trusting and lasting relationship? Rest and acceptance? Love?

What words of encouragement do you have hanging on the walls of your mind? Which words do you speak that sound like prayer? What do you feed your mind before falling asleep and the second you wake? Is your reflection smiling back at you saying “You are beautiful. You are capable. You are strong. You will figure it out.” How is your body being nourished? Are you giving your eyes enough sights that make your body, even if – just for a moment feel one with the scenery? Do you hush your mind and rock your soul to rest when feeling anxious? Do you become better after a challenge instead of bitter? Do you wake thanking God for another day instead of dreading what needs work? Are you easy on yourself when repairs need to be done? Are you wise enough to call for help when the job may be too big to handle yourself? Are you your own best friend, telling yourself “You deserve good things.” just as you would to someone that means the world to you? Are you forgiving when you can’t always be the best version of yourself? Do you wish to be light in darkness or join as a shadow? When you judge others do you acknowledge the feeling of grit it gives your body? When you see the beauty in others do you acknowledge the warmth that runs through your veins? Do you treat others the way you would like to be treated? Do you treat yourself the way you desire others to treat you?

I’ve heard people wanting to get out of their mind, wanting to move on from everything they are feeling, wishing they were somewhere else other than their current state – but all of this cannot be tackled without tackling it. There are fights we need to fight in order to make room for these questions and answers that will shape us into all we are capable of becoming. We must ask the hard questions and most importantly we must answer honestly. Once we become honest with who we are deep down we can then begin to shape our house into a home. Our physical, mental and emotional state will feel safe and heard. There is no need to hide emotions, to pretend that everything is okay when it is not – this is a false environment, one where we wont be free. We can recreate, revisit, revamp, reconstruct at any given moment – we are a miraculous creation that will adjust. Beautiful adjustments take time so it’s important to keep our spirits up and continue to fight when we don’t see or feel results. Something is in store, something restored.

Sink into your sanctuary.

Walk in fearlessly, get comfortable and honest. And then ask your refreshed, revitalized self, “Will you stay awhile?”

-Sadianne Joyce