I’ve written about the metaphorical space we need for self-exploration.  This space makes room for us to audition new ways of seeing ourselves and being with others.  It allows us to commit to living with hope, healing, creativity, and resilience.

But I also believe we need literal, tangible space for self-exploration.  We need our very own physical places where we can think and dream without the distractions of communal stuff.

Virginia Woolf famously lectured and wrote about the necessity of private places for women writers.  I’m not sure what Ms. Woolf would think of the modern day “she shed,” let alone “man cave or mantuary,” but I am confident she would appreciate the continued call for a “room of one’s own.”  Women and men need spaces where we can become clear about who we are and who we want to be.

Finding such space is a powerful form of self-care and the more sacred the space, the more nurturing and nourishing it is.   In sacred spaces, everyday experiences meet the divine.  In these spaces, life’s busy-ness and distractions fade so the world’s inherent expansiveness and hope become visible again.

Sacred spaces are often imagined as sanctuaries or shrines, but these spaces are ripe in nature or in places of great beauty and history.  We can create sacred space in our apartments, homes, offices or gardens.

If you haven’t carved out such space for yourself, maybe it is time.  Regardless of it’s shape or square footage, consciously fill and arrange your space with meaningful and inspiring objects and materials.  Visit your space often.  Recognize it as a place of care, nourishment, expansion, and, maybe, even a little magic. This space is one more avenue to travel as you move on about the business of being exactly who you want to be.

References & Resources

Woolf, V.  (1929).  A room of one’s own. New York:  Harcourt Brace Publishing.