Our homes should be our sanctuaries from the world, our Sacred Space, but too often they are just a 3D to do list. There are walls that need painting, taps that are dripping, furniture that is worn out, carpets that are dirty. Our homes can start to bring us down and make us feel we are not on top of things, not good enough, failing in some way.
The remedy to this feeling is not necessarily to change our homes but to change our attitudes towards them. Most of us have a home, with a roof above to keep out the rain, windows to let in the light, a fire or central heating system to keep us warm, somewhere to store food and a cooker to cook it on. We have a chair to sit on, a bed to sleep in and a bath or shower to wash in. This is all we really need. Nearly all of us have all that we really need.
Most of our dissatisfactions with our homes come from the Monkey Mind which has been fuelled by magazines and television programmes. We believe our homes are not stylish enough, pretty enough, smart enough, big enough, well decorated enough or well equipped enough. We see pictures in magazines of perfect rooms with beautiful sofas and art works, shiny wooden floors and roaring fires. Or we see adverts in summer with perfect gardens complete with mix and match floral crockery, bunting, cushions, barbecues – the works. Our homes, when compared with those simply do not meet up.
I suggest that we look at our homes in a different way. They are the place where so many happy things have happened, relationships have begun in them, children may have been brought up in them, parties have been held and sadness has been felt. These four walls have sheltered and supported us through these times. We should not battle against them for their physical imperfections and mess, we should love them for their embracing arms and shelter and the fact that they are always, always there when we need them. Our home can be our best friend, the true kind of friend who doesn’t care about the latest fashion or the bitchy gossip but who is solid, all embracing and there whenever you need them. Our home can be our Sacred Space.
