I left Ananda on Sunday, having completed my seventh retreat. As always, I am unsure of the lingering effects of the retreat, but sure that I have been affected in some deep way. There will be times when I will remember something someone said during one of the sessions, and it will stay with me for days. Today was one of those times.
Today I had Charles in my head saying, “We were told this was sacred ground but we didn’t know why.” From that simple phrase, which I have now heard him say several times, the words “sacred ground” became etched on my brain and I could not let them go.
The thought occurred to me that everything is sacred ground, or at least had the potential to be.
Why can’t every classroom I enter be sacred ground? Why can’t the road I drive to work on be sacred ground? Certainly as I enter a family’s home to work with their precious child, I must be on sacred ground? What about grocery stores, doctor’s offices, banks, and the post office?
If I could learn to be fully present in every moment, and bring joy (karma yoga) into my everyday activities, could these ordinary places that are just as connected to Mother Earth as temples are be transformed into sacred ground?
I began to think they could.
I can honestly tell you, it changed the way I walked through the day. I felt much more connected to everything and everyone than I normally do when I leave Ananda.
With all of that being said, I still came home and checked out my next opportunity to come visit again. Thank you so much for the peace you bring to me and so many others.
Pam
