New Year's Day gave my neighborhood a sunny blue sky, even though we were under a poor air quality alert as a haze settled across the San Bernardino Basin, and "no burn" restrictions were in place. The sunny blue sky won out over the alerts and I decided on a morning uphill hike up to where the street ends at the gates of a nearby monastery. The climb is pretty strenuous for a city sidewalk "hiker", but the way down is fast and easy. I expected the gate at the top to be locked, but this New Year's Day, it was wide-open, with no one around. Past the gate, a road winds upward, disappearing into a thicket of trees and obscuring the buildings from the street where I stood. On either side of the entrance road, there are open fields with dried grass and marked with gopher holes everywhere. About 30 yards to the east, you can make out a small, rustic rectangular shrine with a wooden sunscreen "roof" and three sun-bleached, rudimentary benches marking the border. A lovely, weathered stone Madonna in prayer, stands on a small brick wall; her robe curves downward, flowing to frame a fading, ambiguous angelic figure, with up-stretched arms.
I had forgotten about the shrine, but seeing it across the way, on New Year's Day, 2025, it called me to walk further and visit. So I did. I sat on the weathered bench facing the Madonna, as my gaze was drawn beyond to the view of the valley below. The smog had definitely filled the valley, giving a ghostly image of Los Angeles skyscrapers. Yet despite pollution, if you sit without judgement, it is an awe-inspiring sight. And I knew I was here to meet the Madonna in quiet prayer. For me, forgiveness and gratitude are two sides of the same "coin" and my New Years Eve, has traditionally included forgiveness, while New Year's Day brings gratitude. The essence of my prayer at the shrine was gratitude for the year that had been, as well as for the year ahead, and gratitude that, unintentionally, I had entered a spiritual refuge on a morning walk.
I thought of a time in Kyoto, after weeks of visiting the 1,000 Gold Statues of Kannon, the spectacular Golden Pavilion, and so many other Buddhist temples and zen monasteries, I aimlessly wandered through a quite Kyoto neighborhood and came across an obscure corner temple with a solitary Buddha. The small yard surrounding the temple was unkept, with wilting grass and weeds. There were broad steps leading to the "stage" where a towering Buddha statue sat in peaceful meditation. No one else was around. For the first time that summer, I was moved to unabashedly sit on the floor and meditate facing Buddha. There, I was no longer a tourist. I was not a minister, nor a Buddhist; I was just me, encircled in reverence and deeply at Peace.
Somewhere near you today, there are places of Peace, hidden sanctuaries in unexpected places. Before life pulls you further into the busy month of January and 2025, find a quiet space--outside your usual orbit. Sit, pray, meditate, receive and renew. Have a quiet talk with God. An unexpected encounter with Good is it's own sanctuary, awaiting your recognition. Let Goodness guide your way. (Susan Nettleton)
for Poetry: https://discoverpoetry.com/poems/douglas-malloch/sanctuary/
https://thepoetryplace.wordpress.com/.../the-place-i.../
https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../StoneGateTem/index.html