A Place of Peace

I just got back from a great trip to New York City to visit family for the Thanksgiving Holiday. What can be better than seeing your family and seeing them happy and healthy? It hasn't been a given lately, my father recovering from quadruple bypass surgery, but this visit was so joyful. My sister just moved to the city and my parents are nearby so I shared my time between the two. My sister's apartment, in typical New York City fashion, is small. The house where my parents are staying was the house of my grandparents and thus is fairly bare, since my parents have a home filled with their life possessions one thousand miles away.

So, although the digs were far from acetic, I wasn't surrounded by piles of stuff either. To be fair, other people's stuff doesn't have the same meaning to me as my own stuff, which demands action- piles of paper work to be done, piles of clothing to be laundered, even piles of books to be read. Other people's piles are much less visible to me. But still, there were fewer of them on my trip. The streets, of course, were busy with stuff- people everywhere, piles of produce, merchandise, cars and trucks, no inch of real estate going unused. But inside, there was just plain less stuff.

When I returned from my trip and walked in the door I felt assaulted by stuff. It didn't help that I entered through my kitchen and the garbage smelled and the first thing I saw was the pile of unwashed dishes in the sink. I am a piler by nature- organization is difficult for me. Plus, I have the tendency to procrastinate and I don't like sending things to the landfill so I tend to hold onto stuff. My son is no different, so between us, we struggle to keep things tidy. Right now, for instance, I have a bunch of new paintings that are waiting to be hung, a happy acquisition, but I haven't gotten around to following through with placing them on the wall. So instead of enjoying their beauty, I am reminded of the work I need to do when I look at them.

I know I have already written a post about the stuff we bring into our lives. Stuff is an issue for me. And it is one I am addressing, albiet slowly. Piles are getting weeded. Trips to the thrift store to donate are being made. Things are being given away, tossed, shredded, etc...but it is slow going and the stuff keeps coming in. There is one room, however, that doesn't have any piles. In fact it has nothing that it doesn't need. One room that is peaceful and lovely.

My massage room.

I love my massage room. It is cozy and magical with its little twinkling lights and branches that are decorated with paper cranes. Sometimes I go in there just to sit or meditate or I push the table aside and lie down on my mat and close my eyes and breathe. Heater on and candles lit, the scent of the essential oil in the diffuser and the beautiful music all feel like a cocoon, embracing me.

It is easy to feel peaceful in such a room. Is it possible to extend that feeling to the rest of my surroundings? This is what I am working toward! Always working towards balance- it seems a constant process! And always...


Wishing you balance,

Nancy