We have been doing a series of posts where we ask our guest bloggers to tell us about their sacred places. It is my turn to share with you about mine.
In order to tell you about it, I have to start a bit farther back in my spiritual journey.
I grew up LDS.* I am not a member of the church anymore, but it serves as a very important part in the development of who I am. Growing up, the places that were holy, and required reverence were many. Churches, Sunday dinner, family occasions, and many more. The places that were sacred, were not nearly as common. The Temple is sacred.
In order to tell you about it, I have to start a bit farther back in my spiritual journey.
I grew up LDS.* I am not a member of the church anymore, but it serves as a very important part in the development of who I am. Growing up, the places that were holy, and required reverence were many. Churches, Sunday dinner, family occasions, and many more. The places that were sacred, were not nearly as common. The Temple is sacred.
The Salt Lake City, Utah Temple, courtesy of LDS.org
There are 144 LDS Temples throughout the world. These are sacred places that members of the church go to, regularly if possible, or as a pilgrimage much like Muslims going to Mecca. These buildings are breathtakingly beautiful, and painstakingly built to exacting specifications, to represent the highest craftsmanship and honor of the LDS church. It is a privilege to go into these temples, and a reverence of the highest degree is expected when you enter.
Upon leaving the LDS church, and finding a new path in the world, I found myself lacking in places that felt sacred to me.
But then I began to understand sacred to mean something totally different. Where before, sacred meant something I could rarely experience, and only in a specific place, I now know that I can find sacredness anyplace, at any time if I will only allow myself.
Sacred was a feeling of quiet reflection, lack of outside interference, and beautiful, rarely seen surroundings. Sacred now is a feeling of love, happiness, peace, and a fullness in my heart. The moments when I look at those I love are the most sacred ones to me. The feelings that wash over me when I hold my son, or when I see my best friend's beautiful baby twins learning to stand and walk. It is also the feeling of my breath being pulled from me, as if by the moon and the tides, when I look at the ocean.
Upon leaving the LDS church, and finding a new path in the world, I found myself lacking in places that felt sacred to me.
But then I began to understand sacred to mean something totally different. Where before, sacred meant something I could rarely experience, and only in a specific place, I now know that I can find sacredness anyplace, at any time if I will only allow myself.
Sacred was a feeling of quiet reflection, lack of outside interference, and beautiful, rarely seen surroundings. Sacred now is a feeling of love, happiness, peace, and a fullness in my heart. The moments when I look at those I love are the most sacred ones to me. The feelings that wash over me when I hold my son, or when I see my best friend's beautiful baby twins learning to stand and walk. It is also the feeling of my breath being pulled from me, as if by the moon and the tides, when I look at the ocean.
The smell of my son when he is fresh out of the bath.
The look of laughter when we finally say UNCLE to a tickle fight!
The look of happy delirium and amazement on her face when her twins arrived safely.
The joy of a day spent with my siblings
The sweetness of my brand new baby boy
The wonder of watching the twins grow bigger every day
An afternoon with my books and something delicious to drink
The Ocean that takes my breath away
Just as these pictures were hard for me to pick from the hundreds I have saved, it is hard for me to pick out the moments in my life that are sacred. Because there are so many. The feeling of sacredness, now, is a moment when I stop and step outside of what is ordinary, and experience the fullness of a moment. The fullness of my life. When I look at those people and things that I love, and simply allow myself to feel that love. That is my sacred place!
* I mean absolutely no disrespect to anyone who is LDS, or to the LDS church. There are many wonderful things about the LDS religion, and many wonderful people who belong to it. It simply isn't for me. My personal experiences do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or intents of the LDS church as a whole. They simply represent my experience with it.
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