Baxter has his favorite places. Most of these have to do with sleeping spots—his mattress under the window, the TV table with a blanket on top, my bed. Some are places to sit like my chair at the dining room table or the window sill facing the side yard. When he is in the mood, Baxter wants to explore the basement. Then he lies on the old couch down there to get away from all the street noise upstairs. All of these spots are places where Baxter feels safe and secure, warm and comfortable, and he can stay in one of these places for hours, waking and sleeping, occasionally changing positions, but always at peace.
Where do we go for peace? In the noisy, crowded and hurried world we live in, a quiet, comfortable spot is not always easy to find. We recreate in places where we can shop or watch a game or listen to music, but these are often like the rest of the world. They are loud with a lot of people speaking over the sounds and elbowing each other for a place at the table. It is fun to be together with all the excitement being shared, but it is still much like the everyday work world we face. The only difference here is that we can dress down, don’t have to report to anyone, and have no deadlines to meet. These places are relaxing, but in a charged way.
Come home, and often the same atmosphere prevails. While the decibels may be down, the noise is still there with the televisions, phones and music devices, and the activity is still nonstop. With emails and text messages we are never away from our work, our friends and family, and all the demands for our attention from advertising. Then there are the robo-calls soliciting our attention and support for all sorts of causes. Is it any wonder that we feel homeless at times, unable to find a place to relax, to be quiet with ourselves, and be undisturbed with our own thoughts and reflection?
Maybe we need to do a little remodeling. It doesn’t necessarily involve physical construction. Rather, to get the space we are looking for we need to adjust the space we are in. Turn off the phones, computers, television and all other electronic devices. We need to find a way to quiet our living space, turn off the demands for our attention and enter into ourselves. It is almost impossible to be in touch with God and our soul’s desire for Him when we can’t be at peace. Opening our spirits to the holy mystery that can’t be readily heard or seen requires us to relinquish the sights and sounds of this world for a while.
Take a tip from Baxter. Make a favorite place in your everyday world where God can speak, you can listen, and peace can be found.
-Monsignor Statnick
