The river is my sanctuary. When I am sitting on a gravel bar at 3 in the morning, looking up at the stars I sometimes feel like I am the only person on earth.
As I sit there I listen to the soothing song of the crickets, tree frogs, and bull frogs and begin to meditate. I clear my mind of negativity. I feel a calmness around me. I don’t have much but I have this special place to come to and heal my mind, spirit and soul. A recharge of sorts.
As I sit there looking into the fire my mind begins to wander. I wonder if anyone else has camped here? Did they appreciate it? Did they relish the silence, or did the silence scare them?
Did anyone sit here and drink in the night sky filled with stars and are they as elated as I am when I see a star fall from the heavens?
The river is a mystical place for me. It’s a place where I can become one with Mother Nature.
There is so much life on the river.
The important part is I feel safe here. Even alone on a sandbar in the wee hours of the morning, in the dark, I am in my element, my safe place. Everyone should have a place like this to go to. It boosts your mental state and improves your peace of mind.
It can be a studio you do your art work in, a den where you put your inner thoughts on paper. It may be your quilting room or in a flower or vegetable garden. It may be on the back of your favorite equine. It is a safe place where you can have peace of mind and healing. It should be a calming place where you shed all the negativity that you have been carrying. Your place.
Feel free to tell us about your safe place in the “comments” section. It will be interesting to see the variety of hiding places used to get right with yourself and deal with the negativity of the world. A place to fill your heart, soul, spirit, and mind with love.
doubledacres 
Oh, I love this. I felt the mist rising from the rivers in early mornings, heard the frogs and crickets, maybe even fox or coyote wails. There is Nothing like being so removed from a city that the stars are so bright, you feel you could touch them. The magnitude of realizing how big our universe is, and as you said, how small we feel in our part of this place.
Sanctuaries are so great to have. One of mine has Always been on the back of a horse, any season, any where…some of the best therapy ever. Without a horse, I like to go barefoot and feel the earth, the grasses, clover, and dirt, and of course the sand from a water’s edge.
Thank you again for taking me on your journey. Some times I feel like your posts are a form of sanctuary as they tell resonating tales that bring me peace. Thank you my friend, keep writing from your soul.
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Thanks so much for your reply. I always look forward to hearing from you and your take on the subject.
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Definitely my canoe…or boat. Preferably in the Canadian shield area on a remote lake or river camping. We live a little remote so over the river, through the woods across a field and over a knoll is this grandfathers house…The screen porch is a very very peaceful place. I think the deer bring their young to their version of a zoo to see the humans.
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Love your reply. I can envision it in my mind. Thanks for your reply. I always look forward to reading them.
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Friend, this post truly resonated with me. My sanctuaries are scattered all over this lovely planet. Recently my favorite refuge was in the shade of trees high on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Time elided as I stared down into that naturally painted gorge and tried to copy pieces of its majesty on stretched sheets of watercolor paper. I felt kissed, embraced and affirmed by Nature.
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Good to hear from yu my friend.
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