I decided that my existence would be one of books and silence.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
It's where I breathe, where creativity unfolds, where I settle back into my skin.
It's my sanctuary.
me + chai + books + silence
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
Franz Kafka
What is your sanctuary?
The whole meditative process of creating all things herbal, and yes, silence and reading. I am lucky that silence and solitude can be mine nearly whenever I want it.
ReplyDeleteGreat quotes ~
You look so beautiful....I love your hair.
chai + books... heaven!
ReplyDeletemy sanctuary is in reading, and also in cooking!
There used to be a program on TV called "Thank God You're Here!".
ReplyDeleteSince moving in with Captain V and his children there are many times when they drive off for school after a chaotic morning of preparation when I let out a deep sigh and exhale the words "Thank God You're Gone!".
It's not that I don't love them all, it's just that I truly crave a quiet & gentle easing in to my day.
So my sacred space is that hour after every has left, when I can sit, breathe, read, write, breathe.
Failing that I like to go for long walks in our beautiful neighbourhood or rock in my hammock snuggled under a fluffy blanket [it's winter in my pocket of the world] and either read a book or listen to my ipod.
xx Felicity
PS LOVING everything about this post. Your quotes [and quoters], you, the books......everything!
beautiful photo! I can relate. Silence is very comforting. Add a book and a cup of chai - bliss.
ReplyDeleteMy sanctuary is my home. It always has, even as a child. During my teen years, when all the kids were at parties, I was home (it was hard to make friends that way :( ) My mom always complains to me now that she doesn't understand how, living in the country, I can just stay home all the time. I don't need to leave and surround myself with people to be content. And that still makes it hard to make friends. I do have a small group of close friends, but I realized that the women I'm close with are just like me - comfortable staying home.
Mon, that is such a stunning self-portrait. I'm with you and Amanda - love being at home, with just me and a cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteRonnie xo
books.always
ReplyDeletemy sanctuary is the same as yours: silence, thoughts, reading, listening.
ReplyDeletei'm dog- and house-sitting for someone this week and they have a really nice deck in the back of their house that overlooks their backyard that slopes very steeply and turns into a densely wooded forest. i've been eating breakfast out there as it's still cool in the mornings. just this morning i saw a little family of deer. it's been such a quiet, wonderful way to start my days!
My sanctuary has been my backyard patio. It's quiet out there with just the trees and the outdoors. My view is our little Buddha sitting under his tree as well as all the trees that hang over our backyard. I can hear bikers and runners go along the trail behind the trees. Sometimes their own rhythmic breathing is soothing even to me. I have my latte and I bring my book to just sit in the morning. It's cooler before the sun comes up too high and before I have to escape back into the air conditioning.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing you there in your little sanctuary. You are beautiful my friend!!
really a great post and a very lovely picture! silence is really something that I do have to less in my life. I love sitting in a library without thinking, looking and doing something - and the ideas pop into my head :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing to know what you need! I hope you can find plenty of this time and space. And that photo of you is so lovely!
ReplyDeleteMy sanctuary lies in walking the dogs, that first smell of steaming chai in the mornings, and the quiet moments of watching my son sleep.
ReplyDeleteFills the well, my friend.
You are one gorgeous mamacita! In my next life, I'd like hair as flowy as yours. I have the curls, but I am seriously lacking in the flowy. More like, the wirey. ;)
mine is definitely in painting.
ReplyDeleteyou're so lovely mon. how did i miss your new blog? i have been waiting for your posts on holisticmum and i guess i missed your switch somewhere. i've been taking a step away from the blogworld since our last move - i'm newly pregnant and not feeling my best. it's super hot in miami and my new sanctuary is my couch and bed. not very inspired to post lately. but, anyways, i'm glad i found you again. it's good to be inspired by others. now i'm having fun catching up on your blog. cheers! anushka
ReplyDeleteYour sanctuary looks & feels so calming.
ReplyDeleteMy own space is in my living room where I've hung sheer cream curtains. There's something about how the sunlight comes through them that feels relaxing to me. And quiet. I crave the quiet. So that is my space, with a hot cup of coffee, my books, my music - and double delightful if the house is empty :)
You are so inspirational!! Haha my sanctuary is the gym..def not quiet but its my one hour where I can just run and let my mind wander.
ReplyDeleteLately it has been sitting on my front porch, not saying a word and watching as the world turns around me. Then there are my books...there has always been my books.
ReplyDeletemy true sanctuary is when I get out of the house and out of the state on a beach somewhere :) which happened maybe 1-2 a year.
ReplyDeleteyou are beautiful.... this is great. my sanctuary- the ocean. it's silent in its loudness...
ReplyDeleteGreat quotes and lovely photo. I love to disconnect in the fictional world of books but my sanctuary is my horse's stable, it's warm and quiet and there is something very relaxing about the gentle breathing of such a noble animal. It's a great place to think.
ReplyDeleteAndrea
silence and reading ... oh, I like the 'sound' of that!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photo of you with your books and chai.
PS. First I thought grass widow was a term only used in Iceland but then I looked it up in the Oxford dictionary and found it. I love it ;-)
You are stunning! :) I am right there with you, although, I must admit I am a coffee drinker. What a wonderful post and a beautiful self portrait. I love silence. I think it is a wonderful teacher and a valuable tool. I don't get much of it these days but when I do, I cherish it.
ReplyDeleteThe Zafón quote is perfection! I also adore books. I wish I had more time to read everything I always wanted!
ReplyDelete♥
Camila Faria
reading your own sanctuaries is SO relaxing!
ReplyDeletethere is something about a warm drink that takes you to a completely different place. it's not like "all your troubles melt away" nothing like that - it's more you and everything that makes you, you are on this level you can find peace at.
ReplyDeletethis maybe be looking into this too much, but that's what i do. : )
that photo of you is just amazing.
Silence is definitely something I need. But I think laughter is my true sanctuary. I feel most alive when I'm laughing, most connected, most free. I actually write about it earlier today (without using the word sanctuary).
ReplyDeleteBut silence? Yes. Definitely need that, too. And it can be in very short supply around my house...
I see this photo of you and all your books and I smile because that is exactly what my sanctuary looks like...filled with piles of books waiting to be read, and tea cups and journals and pens...it is the peace and silence in my room where my thoughts can just "be" and my imagination wander!
ReplyDeleteHa! Laughed when I popped over and saw that first paragraph. I have been mulling over a post on embracing the chaos lol.
ReplyDeleteMy home is my sanctuary. And I can really breathe during the quiet hours before everyone else gets up. The whole world seems asleep, yet I am up and energized. Tea by my side, book or journal in hand.
Stunning picture!
I love that photo...lovely work, Monica! My sanctuary is in creating... whether it be an art project, decorating, cooking...anything I can get my hands dirty in! Unfortunately, these times come less often than I would like, though I am working on how to make it more of a priority :) xoxoxo brynn
ReplyDeleteStephanie, warmth is a comfort to me, just as coolness is a comfort to others. so a warm drink is self-nurturing. And that does take you away...
ReplyDeleteah yes, the sound of the ocean and creating... they fill my cup too... but still 2nd to silence.
even reading this was calming :)
ReplyDeleteSilence and books...that is what I crave right now! I suppose it's up to us to seek (and find) that sanctuary. And, it's so fascinating to read what sanctuary means to different people!
ReplyDeletethis is SOO in tune with my needs today, especially as i'm in my premenstrual phase. wishing i had a few days in a teepee somewhere by myself. ohh to dream! but even on a general basis, i struggle with not getting the silence i need - what with a 2 1/2 year old child and such. i'm quite in awe at your ability to produce so much creativity, and yet play the wife/mother/housekeeper role simultaneously - all while enduring insomnia (which i too grapple with)! girl WHAT is your secret!?
ReplyDelete:)
Beautiful quotes, especially the first one, and beautiful picture. I'm having a hard time settling down and finding peace today... I need to keep silence in mind.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's a place outdoors, where I can feel the energy of the earth. I needed this today. And tomorrow, I'm going to go find it.
ReplyDeleteMy sanctuary? In a room full of jewerly and fabric glue--where I can regroup, release and re-create all of my inspirations onto a piece of cloth making the most perfect design of how I feel inside. And I do; everytime.
ReplyDeletelettersinatreehouse.blogspot.com
ah...that's lovely. what a beautiful photo -- it's so good to *see* you.
ReplyDeleteyes...silence -- agreed. well, perhaps with some birdsong or even rain on the windows....but yes, blessed silence is my ideal.
these days, my sanctuary --..it's the garden, my journal and pen, a stack of library books and tea...definitely tea.
xo
chai and books - absolutely!!! Oh yes.
ReplyDeleteMy sanctuary: the sea, mountains, and most certainly my home. Ideally all three together. My home is where I withdraw, regenerate on a deep psychic level. I too crave silence as spiritual nourishment. My home is not generally where I socialise because of this fact, even though I like the idea of doing so. The primal need for privacy and quiet is too strong.
Love the photo - the contrasts of the dark (your hair, eyes, dress and mug) against the white with the colours of the books all look amazing!
The expression, the composition, the mood, the colors, the books, your hair, your posture, and the simplicity of your clothing in this photo speak volumes to me. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI seem to have found this sacred place that I call my sanctuary in my body. Certain things can support me in accessing it with great ease. Smells (oranges, neroli, bergamot, rose, vanilla, and my daughters pillow), images, being touched (most often therapeutic touch), a heartfelt conversation, the sounds of nature, being alone and in silence, closed eyes, meditation and my mantra, the breathing and heartbeat when I exercise, long bike rides and runs, a conscious hug by a friend, etc.
I visualize often how I enter this sacred place in me and have a very detailed image of it. Here I find peace and feel safe.
I really enjoyed reading everybody's comments.
welcome soluna. funny isn't it? i don't think i produce much creativity at all. i guess it's sheer determination fuelled by a relentless passion for life. *shrug* :)
ReplyDeleteMy sanctuary is my studio. Where I can open up and paint away... without feeling vulnerable to the outside world
ReplyDeletePvdH -designer and illustrator
www.ThePvdHJournal.com
Okay. This is a co-incident. I have come to your blog for the first time, and see a picture that could be mine.
ReplyDeleteMy first love is books. I have no television in my house, and I love silence. I create a my little sanctuary wherever I go, but my own house is my absolute favorite place in the world.
What a great portrait of you, is it a self-portrait?
ReplyDeleteI do embrace my silence and the world of books myself! Long nights and days in the power of words. LOVE!
Love this post. And that picture is beautiful! lovelovelove it!
ReplyDeletethis image is just stunning ~ i love it! books, music, nature, pets and solitude always bring my heartbeat back to the pace of peace.
ReplyDeletebeautiful photo. i love nothing more than some silence to clear my head space and let me be my own. i get so much out of it and that is all that matters.
ReplyDeletereading, the sea or the top of a mountain. gorgeous photo! :)
ReplyDeleteAda
I also crave the silence. Or rather, I like the sounds of nature and nothing else. My sanctuary is in my bed (free of clutter) with a book and a blanket. It isn't complete without the blanket.
ReplyDeleteLovely photo of you!
love this post. I heart silence.
ReplyDeletexoxo, chrissy
The Perfect Palette
Nice self-portrait! And your hair looks fab!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to rediscover my sanctuary. When M was a baby, and I was always tired but in need of connection, blogland became my sanctuary. But now rushing to my computer every chance I get no longer gives me the respite it used to.
I have always needed lots of quiet (but not endless quiet) and lots of solitude (but not endless solitude). I do find peace when I am behind my camera--I can be anywhere, in a crowded place, and just retreat behind the lens and be in my happy place. Writing has also always been a sanctuary for me. Reading.
But right now, I feel myself drawn to meal prep and gardening...maybe this will become a new sanctuary of sorts? It can certainly be very relaxing for me.
it used to be home together with all my books. now both things are gone and I don't have a sanctuary any more. it's ok in summer, but come winter I need to make sure I find myself a new home :)
ReplyDeleteI don't have one anymore. It used to be books, but that was an eternity ago. Silence I had plenty and for a long time, now I feel the need to share with somebody - thoughte, ideas, whatever. But that is not happening. And yes, winters are definetely a problem, especially here because they last for what seems like forever. People hide and hibernate and it is so much harder to have contact with the world. I could go on months without talking to anybody. I have to make serious efforts to go out and be with others, albeit in a supperficial way. Still, better than nothing.
ReplyDeletemy sanctuary is in breathing, in now, in walking, in the forest, in my children's happiness. actually, in their being. even last night as i stood behind them, two bodies, as they did dishes. they hated it. they were in pain or so they thought, toiling, or so they thought, and i stood behind them just a little taller, seeing them for who they are, how they are growing, and i was in my sanctuary.
ReplyDeletexo
erin
Sanctuary in part, is my reading, walking, being still in meditation, silence - no TV or radio.
ReplyDeleteRecently reconciled my former husband and I have moved into an RV to acclimate before beginning to travel in April 2012. We had been apart for over ten years. My solitude is greatly reduced.
I am new to your blog. I find it creative and inspirational.
I feel like I've lost mine. I'm fumbling in the dark, stumbling around, lost my footing, can't see the bottom, can't find the path, lost. Workin' on it.
ReplyDeleteI go away, I come back and always at the right time. You seem to always be there to remind me of what I need to remember. I love that about your blog.
ReplyDeleteMy sanctuary is my creating. Those quiet moments when hands are busy and the mind slows and eventually lulls itself into a deep stillness. Knitting, sewing, anything by hand is all I need to switch off and I am grateful for it.
Beautiful picture, Monica! I think this is my most favourite picture of yours :) I have that exact edition of the 'Mythology' book that is there in the picture :) Have you read it? Did you like it?
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how much I adore that photo. Good to find you again. xo
ReplyDeleteYou are so beautiful, Mon.
ReplyDelete