Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Sacred Places ~ Inside & Out

When you read the words….  Sacred Places what does your mind



conjure up?    Do you see mystical, far off unknown places that you



have never visited?   







~Sacred Places~





Sit with that for a moment…….  close your eyes and envision ~~~~~~







Do you ~know~ that you are sacred?      Smile    





Do you feel the parts of you that are so very sacred?





Your ability to offer friendship to another person…… Do you know



exactly HOW sacred that is?    WELL …… it IS.   BIG TIME.   





There are so many other facets about ourselves that are indeed,



most sacred.   You just have to BE with yourself and internally



keep them in the front to actually KNOW the parts of you



that are sacred.





Parenting is also a very sacred quest.    You have a chance to



send bits and pieces of yourself into a future that you will



never actually live in.    When you think about the scope



of parenting as ~sacred~ endeavor, it brings about a



straightening of the spine and a chance to stand just a bit taller.





My most ~Sacred~ place on Earth is a local park.





~Tinker’s Creek~



Tinker’s creek is a tributary of a major river in the Cleveland Ohio area.


The river is the Cuyahoga River.

The park itself is part of a system of Parks in the Cleveland Ohio area.



The land was set aside in the early 1900’s by a group of very progressive



thinking people who knew that the land it’s self was ~scared~ and



intended to keep it in the natural state.





Tinker’s Creek is located within the Bedford Reservation of the
Cleveland
Metroparks. 





I visited there every weekend as a child, and it’s a place that



I have taken my children to many many times over the years.



Perhaps they too have adopted – this place – as ~sacred~.





The most important thing about YOUR scared place is that



it is someplace either you can literally visit, or go to in your mind.





You might now live hundreds, or thousands of miles away



from that place…..  But in your minds eye ~ in a heartbeat you are there.





It is in that ~Sacred Place~ that you re-energize your ~Spirit~.





IF by some chance, you have never created a ~Sacred Place~…



Ohhhhhhhhh it’s not too late….. Do it now, and visit often.







Dedicated to *Our* children:











Kerri ~ Nicole ~ Vinny ~ Kevin





Tinkerscreek_3



5 comments:

The New Parent said...

Hi Deb---sitting with my daughter as we meditate (listening to the sounds around us) in her bedroom. That's a "sacred" moment for us.
Another--climbing up into one of our lofts in the evening (the whole family, including the dog), lighting candles and saying prayers together.
Two that come to mind immediately. Great post!

dave said...

Hey Deb, I didn't realize that you felt this way. My most sacred place on this planet is Tinker's Creek, as you know. But not the park as much as the creek and the close proximity to the creek. Perhaps in a Sub-C sort of way this might be linked to childhood. But in a mindful way it has nothing to do with childhood.
So many memories for me...
One quick one to share (for your readers). Our oldest daughter won a bag of goldfish at a local school carnival. We could not keep the fish. So instead of liberating them via a canal sort of system that led to Lake Erie,(flush em down the toilet), I decided to take them to the creek. With Vickie along we searched for a good place to put them in. Finally we found just the right spot. Vickie and I bent over and feeling really good about doing the right thing, set em free....for no less than ten seconds, for in this amount of time bigger fish converged and ate them right before our eyes. Sigh.

Debra Estep said...

Thanks Frank and Dave for your comments...
before I respond, I want to drop in a comment that Dave's dtr Vickie sent me about this post via email....
"I completely understand! Tinkers was a special place for my Dad and I. We ALWAYS hiked there together. I remember him taking me on some VERY hard hikes that he and Uncle Mikey mapped out (off the beaten path). I miss those hikes!"
"When I was down there for Christmas Dad and I did take a walk on a bike path they have down there. Not at all the same as Tinkers…but at least it was the two of us together!
Love,
Vic
WOW... the kid nailed it - TIME -
"it was the two of us together"
It's the time spent together OVER time,
that creates the sacred for a child.
Kudos Frank you are making ~sacred~ memories
for your wee little lady.
Dave, I'm certain the horror of the moment
has turned into one of those hilarious family stories that is repeated again and again.
The good thing for you to know is that
she recalls your trips there as special time !!! ---- but YOU knew that. :)

Damian said...

Debs,
What a wonderful article, I must add my children's names to the list of the dedication to share the magic you've invoked-
~ Hayden ~ Gillian ~ Ethan ~ Mason ~
I'm still finding 'sacred' places to take my kids too and I wrote about two stories at 'be the change - tread the path'. An article entitled 'Invoking the Magic in others' (click on my name and you should be there :-)
Loving that picture too, with yours, Vic's and Dave's descriptions I'm right ~THERE~
Love and Light,
Damian

Debra Estep said...

Damian,
You are indeed making magic with
the children....
One of these days, long after the days
of their youth have passed you will be
reminded again of these times by them...
It will start out, 'Dad, remember when'....
Thanks for sharing your sacred moments.
xo xo
Deb