Windmill palms bordering my front porch - a play of shadow and light.

The  water lotus are finally in bloom!

Mid-summer delights in my garden.

Creating sacred space

It looks like we are finally going to get rain today and so I am in a particularly grateful place.  My garden is thirsty for the kind of soaking that only Mother Nature can provide, despite my enduring efforts with the garden hose.  Blessed rain.  And so I am thinking about the life-giving force of gratitude and how important it is that we create spaces that nurture our spirits.

The Thai people have an extraordinarily beautiful tradition of creating sacred spaces that nurture spiritual harmony. Before a new homeowner takes up residence in their “vacant” house, a small Spirit House is installed in the yard so that the displaced spirits (who had been freely occupying the empty house) have a place to go.  By housing the spirits in this way, and through the continued offerings of gifts placed inside the Spirit House,  the new homeowners and the spirits establish a happy relationship.  And in gratitude for their new “digs”, the spirits protect and bless the new homeowners and their property.  Ahhh…reciprocity! 

I will never forget watching the Brahmin monks tie a string from our front door to the Spirit House so that the spirits could “travel” along the string into their new little home filled with offerings of flowers, food and incense.  That same Spirit House now resides in my garden in Greensboro, tucked away in a corner with the Frangipani and Jasmine.  Every time I pass by I am reminded that caring for Spirit, my own and others, is the ultimate act of gratitude.

What kind of space have you created to celebrate Spirit?  Where do you find your deepest connection to something outside yourself?   How have you incorporated sacred space into your daily life?  Does it matter?