Sacred Spaces -- Part 1

My therapist and I (but let's be honest, mostly my therapist) expend a great deal of time and energy cultivating "safe space" for us to occupy together. Interestingly, the confidentiality of our relationship makes up only a tiny part of what characterizes this safe space. In fact, confidentiality matters almost not at all -- I would trust her to share whatever she saw fit with whomever she saw fit, even without telling me about it -- so strong is the sense of safety that she has cultivated for me.

In my therapist's office, safe space becomes an embodied reality. First, she pays careful attention to the room itself. The room is comfortable with a door that locks and an understanding that only people and attitudes we invite are welcome. The occasional changes in the room, most times fluid though sometimes abrupt, mark the reality of life outside and around that space, and the movement invited within the space. The smell of a candle permeates the space and sets it apart, without overpowering it. It is just warm enough, just light enough, just big enough.

This space holds no judgement. Not that we accept anything or everything; that would not be safe. Rather, the space gently expands to hold conflict and tension in a way that does not diminish the space available for movement and understanding. In this space, we recognize and call out harmful and hurtful ideas and behaviors not through judgement but with grace. I sense that she cannot bear to allow harm because of her deep care and concern for me in my journey toward wholeness. And yet, all things can be named, shared, reflected upon without fear of retaliation, anger, or contempt. Mutual sharing, trust, and relationship characterize our space together, expanding the possibility for safety within ourselves and therefore with each other also.

This space is unique in my life, offering a safety seldom available in the rest of the world. It is space to be really and truly me, foibles and all -- and a space to live courageously (and sometimes uncharacteristically) into the beauty of the person God created me to be.

And so, I call this space sacred space, holy space. Space truly set aside as different. Space that embodies the presence of God. A place inviolate, protected, secure.

I believe that every child of God, every person in this world, deserves to discover sacred space like this.