My writing cottage has become so much more to me than I would have ever anticipated when it was built in 2007. It began as a place for me to have quiet while I did my writing and away from distractions in the house that would beg my attention – like washing the dishes, throwing in laundry, answering the phone (when we had a landline) or suddenly feeling the need to tidy up.

As I’ve written before, there was some sacrifice involved. I sold a red, sporty car – a Mitsubishi 3000GT that I owned to pay for the lumber to build the ten by twelve room. While in some ways it was a difficult decision because I loved that car, in other ways it wasn’t. It felt like the right thing for me to do.

But I didn’t really feel then, or now, that it was a sacrifice. I was making a choice and one I was comfortable in doing.

Little did I realize at the time how this space would become sacred to me. Joseph Campbell said that your sacred space is where you go to find yourself over and over again.

It’s how I feel about this special place of my own now, separate from our home, away from distractions. I think because I am a deep thinker, it is imperative for me to have lots of quiet and alone time. I can’t hear myself think among the noise of the world – the news filled with sadness and much hate – and the technology that can consume us.

But even if one isn’t a deep thinker, being alone is essential to one’s well being. When I think about when I was young and newly married, I was so scared to be alone when John went out. I didn’t like to be by myself. But the older I’ve gotten, the more I crave it. I need it. It is truly part of my self-care.

This little olive green cottage has helped me heal in many ways in which I needed to do so and why at one point I started calling it my Zen writing cottage.

It has brought me to a place within myself that I can go to be in peace when I need to. And what’s so interesting, that after all these years of having this quiet place to come to, I can much more easily carry that same feeling with me wherever I go.

And this is the thing I want to share. You don’t need a space such as mine, or to travel a long distance. We each have to find that space where we feel safe and can be alone – to hear ourselves think – to be alone with our thoughts and sort them out – to acknowledge them. I’ve found, that is what helps ground me – keeps me centered – fills me up once again.

While I’m not ready to give up this space of mine that has become a spiritual and healing place for me, I know I will be okay should I have to leave it behind someday. Because it’s what it has done for me that I can never lose – how it has supported me and helped me evolve – that I take with me. I will always have that now.

And I can now take this knowing into new territory. Whether a walk in the woods, siting on the sofa, or a walk on the beach – it’s the conscious choice of being alone, with myself, to fill the well of who I am and how I want to continue to grow is what is vital.

Some of my most cherished and treasured times have been with me, myself, and I, and within the Self of my own temple that I call me.

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Just a friendly reminder that I’m giving away a copy of my new book Wisdom Found in the Pause – Joie’s Gift. To enter, visit my post from yesterday and leave a comment by midnight cst, Thursday, Oct. 27th.

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