Sacred Life Sunday: Pieces of Mother Earth

A simple, long, sometimes noisy and rowdy (Lucy & Silas), slow-moving day. I should have worked ... but there will be plenty of working Sundays in the busy holiday months ahead. I need to rest up!

One sacred act I did today was clean and rearrange my bedroom altar. The photo is a little bowl on my bedroom altar, filled with sand scooped from the base of the Egyptian pyramids. When my brother went to Egypt, I asked him to bring me sand. My favorite souvenirs are natural, and I just now realized I have a small collection from places I hold sacred:

~ Sand from the pyramids
~ Dirt from Glastonbury Tor (a sacred place I hope to visit someday!)
~ Remnant of my grandfather's country schoolhouse
~ Bird's nest from my former Snohomish home
~ A stone from Prague Castle
~ Rocks from Swan River
~ Piece of slate from the Mabel Dodge Luhan House

Maybe I have others, but I'm quiet today and not particularly deep-minded. This is a relief! For me, true rest is a quiet mind and the quieter my mind, the better my life. :)

Comments

[Olivia]

Carla, you model beautifully what a "Woman at Rest" does and how she lives. I take inspiration from how you live, because as a recovering workaholic, I really don't know how to rest. I am just now learning. My second half-century will be one of Rest. Thank you. with love, Olivia

[Abbey of the Arts]

The feathers are beautiful. Yes, rest always when you are weary and you will have so much more to give. blessings! Christine

[claire]

what amazing treasures on your altar, carla! i carry a shell from Santa Barbara in my bag - my soul-home, and to declare i'm a pilgrim...
i hope you had a restful sunday - take care of yourself :o)
blessings for the coming week, xxx

[martie]

Oh my! Feathers -- how I love feathers. And it's just occured to me that I haven't picked one up aand stroked my face with one since my youngest was a little girl (she's 17 now!). How fun it was to explore with my children and watch the delight in their faces as we discovered treasure after treasure from Mother Earth and her critters! Thanks for sharing this, and enabling me to remember...

[beverly]

Hey Carla, I love natural Mother Earth souvenirs too. I have feathers, rocks, shells and even sacred sticks all around...I like the feeling of bringing earth energy back home with after I visit different places. Makes it easier for me to go back to those places when I feel like visiting again but can't really get away...Thanks for continuing to lead us toward looking at the sacred parts/places and things in our lives!
Love, Beverly

[Brigitta]

well I've done it; thanks to your inspirational blog, I've started a new one myself. I'm not sure I'm gonna do the 31 days sacred life cycle, but I will definately blog more then once a week. I'm not quite sure yet where my journey will take me, but it's time I started it. The URL is http://brigitta-thevoicewithin.blogspot.com
Thank you once again for your inspiration

[Jane]

Good morning Carla!

I have small little altars around the house but I don't have one that really feels like it speaks to me yet and has a prominent place. This week, I'mm going to make one in my bedroom....you've definitely inspired me!

[liz elayne]

love this altar...
i can deeply relate to this need to have little pieces of nature from places you hold dear...i have them scattered around my house as well.

[eileen (the dream)]

VERY cool, Carla! I have some alters here and there ... sometimes odd combos - but all things which I treasure. Peace.

[Monique]

Beautiful! Love the combination of flight and earth joined together with ease and grace. It inspires me to find the grace and ease in my own dichotomies! Now to go hug that Brother of yours ;)

[Carla Sanders]

Your altar photo is beautiful, Carla. The sand appears as cornmeal. I too took a retreat day, noise supplied by mower in the late afternoon. Mowing is blessing to me. Yesterday was a good day to rest and come center. I have several altars on my land, one in my house.

[Carla Sanders]

Your altar photo is beautiful, Carla. The sand appears as cornmeal. I too took a retreat day, noise supplied by mower in the late afternoon. Mowing is blessing to me. Yesterday was a good day to rest and come center. I have several altars on my land, one in my house.

[Kate I]

Oh don't get me started on my natural treasures collection...but since you asked, I have rocks from EVERYWHERE...my suitcase is always full of rocks when I come home from a trip. I have a bowl full of feathers and another huge bowl filled with sand and all the shells I've collected from beaches around the world. I love bring the energy of a place home with me in the pieces of nature that 'follow me home'.

The best souveniers ever!

[Patti]

Me too. Rocks, shells, seed pods, gum leaves, pine cones (my son used to collect them on his walk home from school). But I don't have anything as exotic as Egyptian sand. Very special.

[daisies]

i love that you have sand and dirt from around this beautiful earth ... i have rocks, little alters of rocks all around my house :) i love holding them and remembering their story, remembering what they got me through, remembering the beauty of their surroundings ... xox

[Kara]

Carla, You always have such AWE-some photos. This bowl looks like it is floating in Heaven. Divine.....thanks

[Annie]

What wonderful souvenirs you have. Such treasures!
Annie
xxx

[Temple Woman]

I feel the same way You do!
re the last sentence in this entry.

I am moved to hear all of the places (you shared here, knowing there are more) that you have *Pieces* of....
What a beAUtyful way to have the eNergy of a Place STAy with you=

[Christina Arbini]

Carla, that is such a great idea to collect "natural" souveniers. I definitely need to collect more. I tend to pick up rocks from different places for some reason. But I love that you have actual items like the pieces of structures and the actual ground/sand on which other structures stand. The energy still contained in each is the best souvenier of all. :-)

Christina