Your sacred space

Many of us have a place in our lives where we feel especially free and creative. They are places we retreat when we want to recover from a bad day, celebrate a good day, think through a knotty problem, or write the first draft of our next chapter. Some people head for the hills and the parks, but sacredness can come anywhere: one friend confided that she wrote her best grad school papers in a pizza parlor. Sometimes your entire home, and sometimes a special room in your home, will be a sacred space.

There are two things to remember. First, you will feel at home in a new city or a new life after you have found a sacred space. Second, you cannot go searching for a sacred space. Your sacred space will find you.

I have enjoyed several sacred spaces as I've moved around the country. Often my sacred space is a coffee shop. Years ago, visiting at a university in New England, I was stuck on a research paper. One weekend I drove down to New Haven, where I found a coffee shop with just the right vibes. An outline drafted itself in half an hour. In Philadelphia, I particularly liked the Tuscany coffee shop, just around the corner from my apartment. The counter staff got to know me. At first I had to convince them that I really prefer raw, untoasted bagels and yes, I know it's January, but I still want my coffee iced. I first began to feel at home when they handed me one of their Christmas cards for "regulars" with a coupon for a free cappuccino.

I didn't find a sacred space in Florida until Keesha, my keeshond-chow mix, entered my life. As a new dog owner, I was surprised to learn the maxim, "A tired good is a good dog." Keesha and I learned to love the dog park in Coral Springs. I knew she had enough exercise when she was too tired to bark at the toll-takers on the Sawgrass Expressway. When she gave up chasing the cats after a half-hearted "arf," I knew we were on to something.

The dog park became a sacred space. I would walk while Keesha ran, appreciating the cool breezes and the open space. When my career change became frustrating, I would walk through the park and visualize a new future.

I must say I am not a great fan of Gainesville, where I just spent a year as a visiting professor. (Forgive me, Gator fans,) But the dog park is probably one of the best in the world and that became my sacred space. If you're not a student, Gainesville can be lonely, and the dog park had people to talk to and a place to hide from people on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Check out their website: www.dogwoodpark.com.

In my own Fort Lauderdale house, my backyard offers a private place to sit with the dog, drink my iced coffee, and watch the birds. Fort Lauderdale is a kind of hub for migratory species and cardinals, orioles and bluebirds stopped by as the seasons changed. When I move again, I will know I am home when I find a new sacred space.