Getting Quiet with Barb ~ Listening to the Wisdom Within

Seeking Shelter

• Barbara Robitaille

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Remember that incredible feeling of finding your secret hideaway as a child, where no trouble of the world could reach you and everything felt safe?

Join me as I dig deep into my own childhood experiences of finding solace in the library and church, and how I incorporated those comforting elements into my own bedroom sanctuary. 

We'll explore the connection between our physical surroundings and our inner landscapes. And the importance of bringing both into harmony to shelter us in these uncertain times.

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Speaker 1:

Hi, I'm Barb Robitaillee. I invite you to join me in the Radical Act of Getting Quiet. I had a rich interior life as a child. Well, I think that's a rather lofty way of saying I was a bit strange. Strange, that's a little strong too, isn't it? I was just different. That's what it was. I was just different.

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I was alone, a lot, which I didn't mind. I kept myself and as a result, I was a keen observer of life happening around me. I watched people. I was curious about who they were, looking basically for what was normal, because I had no sense of what normal might be. I only knew that nothing was as it seemed in our house. Nothing was real except the unpredictable climate of alcoholism.

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So I spent hours reading Nancy Drew, mysteries being my favorite, and I rode my bike a lot through the back alleyways in my neighborhood. I was either headed to the library or to the church. Both were only a few blocks from home. In the library I would curl up in a corner, my nose in a book, and I'd be completely lost in a story A welcome relief from my own. I was comforted. I was all cozied up inside this overstuffed pillow and I felt so held there, and the librarian would smile. It was quiet there, predictable. I felt safe.

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You know, I was lucky enough to grow up at a time when church doors were always open day and night. I could just go at any time and I could sit in the stillness and I would feel the light streaming through the reds, purples, golds, blues and greens of the stained glass windows. It was like I could feel the colors wrap around me and move through me. I loved the candles that were always burning, lit by those seeking God's grace. I would ask God to hear their prayers and mine. The air in the church was softly scented with incense from Sunday mornings. It was an essence that transported me into another world. The walls of the church held all the prayers, tears, joys and sorrows, the hearts of people seeking comfort. I felt I belonged there when I was by myself, when it was on Sunday. I never felt I belonged there on Sunday.

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I guess I was a weekday worshiper. It was quieter, I could rest and through these experiences of connection I had at the library and in the church, I was led to this, this unshakable knowing that our physical surroundings and our inner landscapes are connected. It's like they dance together. And so, with my bike basket filled with books, the feeling of connection to what I felt when I was in the library, the sense of safety followed me home. It's like I brought the library home with me and I would arrange the books on my bookshelf and transport myself into adventures beyond my own. Adventures that sparked dreams to carry me into a life of my own making, one beyond being nine years old. Stories that allowed me a break from where I lived to imagine another life for myself someday.

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And my bedroom where I kept the books was a mini replica of the church and was like my own sanctuary. I spent hours covering shoeboxes with aluminum foil to become altars with flowers and candles, surrounding myself with icons of Jesus and Mary, holy cards and rosaries. All of this supported my longing to hold the feeling of calm, peace and gentle love I felt when I was in church. The connectedness I felt in myself, the knowing deep within that I was part of something more. Intuiting that those church walls held a powerful connection to my feelings inside and my total absorption in carefully arranging and decorating my bedroom strengthened my sense of self and deepened a faith deep within me. I created a space that held me through the days and nights, a visible, tangible reminder of the invisible safety net of God's love and presence.

Speaker 1:

In the midst of not knowing what might happen next, we seek shelter. We do it intuitively. I began to know myself, to learn about who I am, while I was curled up on that library beanbag chair and sitting in the church pew. I learned what I needed and I carried it home with me. I took pieces of what comforted me and I recreated the feeling in my bedroom. What I didn't have provided for me, I created for myself. I couldn't control the bigger picture of my life, but I found a way to shelter myself as best I could.

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I think it's so important to look at what we did to survive. We couldn't control much of what happened around us when we were children, and I'm not saying here that it's not important to look at the dynamics of dysfunction, addiction, trauma. What I am saying is that I feel it's equally important to recognize, to explore what we did in response to whatever it was that affected us that we could not control, because in that we learn about ourselves, about our resilience, our creativity, our essence. So maybe take some quiet time to reflect on what you did to protect yourself as a child or as an adult, you know like, did you go outside and sit under a tree? Did you draw, sing, paint, listen to music, make cookies? Think back and see what comforted you and consider bringing whatever that was back into your life. Make room for that again in some way in your life. Allow it to once again soothe and comfort you, because there's no, there's no doubting or questioning or looking the other way.

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We're living in times of deep uncertainty, and it's not that humanity hasn't been in turmoil before, but we're living in this uncertainty. This is our time, it's where we are and it's everywhere, and there's a part of me that trusts that it's exactly the time we were meant to show up for. So, with so much out of our control, I feel it's so important to create shelter where we are, to create a home where we feel safe when we cross the threshold after all day out in the world, a place where we can renew our energy and our spirits. It's like we need to refuel before heading out again, and so look at your home, look at where you're living right now, and maybe it's time to change it up just a little bit.

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Sometimes, even moving a few things around can shift energy and it can give you that sense of belonging to the space that you call home. And it's a great time, maybe, to do a little decluttering and ridding yourself of what you no longer need. This feels so good and you'll feel good about, maybe, where those items might be passed on to. You might be supporting and helping someone else and then what you keep, what's left over, organize in ways that work for you and that support your rhythm of your life. Just look at it everything fresh and anew and put things in the places that make the most sense for you. One time at a dining room that we turned into an office, because what was true is that we could move a little table out into another section of the house, but what we needed and where we always hung out was in the dining room to do our work. So we just One day just turned it into an office space and it worked beautifully.

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So think about, think outside the box and think about your home in a fresh way and move a little bit of the energy and take kind of creative control and create a home again that reflects who you are and where you want to be. Keeping things simpler and lighter in your home translates into feeling more ease and lightness within, going back to my belief that there is no separation between our interior life and our physical surroundings. Each affects the other hugely, so bring them into harmony and create physical space to soothe and comfort you. Every aspect of who you are will benefit. It's good medicine you can also think about.

Speaker 1:

As part of this, think about creating order. When we're steeped in all the crazy of the world, having our lives in order can go a long way in making us feel on top of things. So you might want to take action in ways that support your life in feeling steady, and as part of that, here's just general ideas. You may already have these in place, but if you don't, you might want to consider them. Check and make sure you've got the will and your medical directive in order. You know where they are and they're taken care of. And if you haven't organized an emergency preparedness pack, consider doing that and then store it where everyone knows your family members or roommates, where they know where it is. And so those are just a couple other practical things you can do. Make sure you have batteries and flashlights, a little cash on hand.

Speaker 1:

Our contentment and our health and well-being all stem from the relationship of the inner and outer aspects of ourselves with our surroundings. Our homes offer shelter from the world that lies beyond our front doors. Creating rooms that reflect who we are, what we love and that support our way of being in the world offers beauty of our own creation, a place to rest and ease our minds, bodies and spirits. A shelter from the storm. My work is all about space holding space, creating space, clearing space. That space can be within the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical bodies or our physical surroundings.

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In January, I'm creating and holding space for a magical retreat at the ocean's edge in Seabrook, washington, surrounded by the natural world, while we get quiet together by the fire, tap into our creative flow and gather around the table. Visit my website, talkwithbarbcom, where you'll find more information. There's a place at the table and by the fire waiting for you. Thank you for listening. Until next time, let's live and lead from love. You can subscribe to Getting Quiet with Barb on whatever platform you listen on. That way, you won't miss an episode. You can also rate or leave a review if you found some value, and also you can visit my website. Sign up for my newsletter so we can stay in touch.