As my children sat around the table gobbling up their meals and quickly asking to be excused, eager to get onto the NEXT THING (there’s always a next thing beckoning isn’t there?), I calmly replied,

“Not yet.”

Despite the near rolling of eyes and inner resistance that I sensed from them, I went on to say, ”This is Sacred Space. Sitting around this table, looking into your eyes, and letting all other distractions (aka screens) be pushed out of our way for just a few moments is very important.”

Whether they understood my motherly rant is yet to be seen, but I firmly believe in the principle of this practice. Creating sacred space in the midst of the frenzy of life.

I’m not very good at this. If you could peer into my mind (Please don’t. You might be scared.), you would find that it is most often dwelling in the future - what needs to get done, what am I concerned about, etc. - or it is dipping into the past - re-thinking past decisions and generally wishing I could have done things better (the “Wing-One” on my Enneagram).

So, in order to pause the constant vacillation between past and future, I have to purpose to pause and focus on the present. I have to find the sacred in the crazy. I have to internally check-out of my inner world’s frenetic dialogue and check-in to the people and places right around me.

This is hard, but worth it.

This means looking into my children’s eyes. Or sitting outdoors and feeling the wind on my face. Or saying “Thank you” to God for clean water that is at my disposal from a shiny silvery faucet any time I need it.

This also means saying no to some things in order to say yes to what I hold most dear. I value connection, but my life feels so full of interruptions that it’s hard for me to even focus. So how can I intentionally connect - to the whisperings of my heart or to my family or to that project that feels important but not urgent?

I choose to find sacred at my fingertips. I endeavour to embrace the little moments that are right in front of me. It’s these little moments that add up over time and help me to be a more grateful person. That, and coffee twice a day. Which I suppose can be sacred too.

What do you find sacred? What habits have you formed that allow you to pause in the midst of the crazy?