On our life’s voyage, you and I often feel engulfed by relentless storms. We cling to familiar routines, neglecting to trim our sails, and exhaust our time, talent, and treasure on endeavors that, despite their secondary importance, don’t truly resonate with our souls. The demands of circumstance, family, and position can repeatedly send us off course, forcing countless small and large decisions. We are called to constantly adjust our sails.
No one is spared life’s tempests and pressures. Each of us must confront the difficult facets of our existence, the injustices we endure, and even those we, intentionally or not, inflict upon others. The sole beacon of hope for inner peace, the only anchor in the midst of the storm, is to forge what Howard Thurman named an “Island of Peace within one’s own soul.” Living in the Sonoran Desert, I envision it as an “Oasis of Peace.”
Thurman’s profound insight suggests that within the depths of our being lies a sacred “holy of holies“—a dwelling place for God. Not the God prescribed by society, government, church, or family, but the God residing within our very hearts. It is in this sanctuary that our true, authentic selves awaken and flourish; it is the Oasis of Peace towards which I continually journey.
The very rigors of this inward journey unearth our deepest thoughts and emotions about our own lives, drawing back the veil to reveal the true person gazing into the soul’s mirror. Our genuine feelings about others—our loves, our angers, our joys, and our concerns—are similarly unveiled for all to witness. Such honesty can be truly intimidating!
This profound self-honesty—our true identity, our aspirations, our life’s direction—becomes accessible to us within this oasis, this “holy of holies.” Life is simply too fleeting to settle for anything less.
Namaste. Shalom.
Paul