Have you ever had one of those moments when your heart was deeply stirred by something simple? Like the hummingbird gathering nectar from the flowering tree just outside the front door, or the gratitude that wells up when another really hears you.
We expect greatness to move us. That is often why we turn to grand events and ceremonies when we need to connect with the sacred. We also often have a tendency to believe sacred is something others create and we witness.
During my studies of theatre, I discovered that historically performance grew out of religious ceremony. Song, art, poetry, movement, writing, and drama all have the potential to connect us with something greater than ourselves. That is why those are often components of our big rites….birthdays, baseball games, opening ceremonies, etc. I enjoyed exploring what that meant for me as an individual by creating sacred moments in my everyday life.
My Simply Sacred journey began with making the space around me feel better. I arranged the room and the things in it so that it felt inspiring and peaceful. Then I played with setting up areas in the house that were reminders to me of what was important. One of my first tablescapes was a collection of things that belonged to my mother, a picture of her, and a small vessel with some of her ashes.
I found that for some people that kind of arrangement might be called an altar. The word altar means table. For me, the altar was not about worship, but more about an expression of what was important to me, what needed attention in my life, what desired change, and at its most simplified, an installation of found objects that when brought together stirred my heart, my imagination, and my inner wisdom.
Those early installations have grown into a whole aspect of work that I do in my community. I create simple ceremonies to honor various parts of life….. births, weddings, personal transformation, rites of passage, and even the passing of a loved one. Sometimes the ceremonies are so simple it feels like people getting together with just another layer of meaning added to it. Other times the sacred moments are more fleshed out and formal.
This week my family and I came together for a Simply Sacred Moment to honor the passing of our cat, Schatzie.
(Schatzie means Sweetheart in German.)
Schatzie is one of several cats that have made their home with us. She has the honor of being the first though. She announced herself the day we took ownership of our home (which happens to be 8 years ago today). She was a dear part of our home.
She would never drink out of a bowl!
We honored her by creating a small resting place for her in the back yard under some shade trees. In her little grave, we placed a painting on paper…because she never let us do art without wanting to be smack-dab in the middle of it. We added some watermelon pieces….her favorite food, of all things! Shook out several drops of peppermint essential oil because she was a bit addicted to the smell. We picked sunflowers and offered them along with our favorite stories of her. We used items from the garden to create a mandala over her resting place and erected a small impromptu work of art as a marker.
The ceremony was simple. It was mindfully thrown together and not planned. We all gave of ourselves in a creative way, thinking a bit outside the box. And when we were done, our hearts felt lighter and more peaceful.
I want to encourage you to use your Creative Spirit to create Simply Sacred Moments for yourself. They are a great way to bring meaning and magic into your life.
Make Your Life Simply Sacred
