Around this time of year, my cable company puts on a free option of a crackling fire. It lasts for about an hour and comes with a variety of choices for music…soothing instrumental, classic carols, or just the simple sound of a crackling fire. I absolutely LOVE it and put it on often…especially since I do not have a fireplace of my own. Yet I can imagine the warmth the digital fire would produce and the gentle smell of wood and smoke it would create, and I am quite at peace.
So during these longer, colder nights, place an extra log in the fireplace, and let the calm wash over you…
The Log Fire by Daniel Henderson
Cover Painting: Carl Herpfer (1836-1897) – The Love Letter
Everyone needs a quiet, little place to call their own. Perhaps it is a private bedroom, a favorite chair, the breakfast nook, or a porch swing that hides behind a lush, overgrown ivy vine. Whatever or wherever it is, this little space is the one place where, no matter what the outside world holds, is safe, quiet, and peaceful. It isn’t the type of space that matters, or the way it is decorated, it is the conscious decision made that while you are there, regardless of the time spent, you are away.
For me, I am fortunate to say that my whole house is such a retreat. Perhaps there are parts in my little home that are more comforting than others, but once I walk through that door, I give a blissful sigh that I am home, in my little castle, away from troubles.
Please don’t think that I am void of above said troubles, for I have as many as the next person. But the ones I can leave outside, I do. Period. And therefore, my little suburban home that is a little too close to my neighbors and has that dog down the road which won’t stop barking, often feels like the most delightfully remote cabin one could hope for.
Therefore, this month’s poem is all about creating your own “little world of peace.”
I wish you all happiness and encourage you to find that precious spot you can call your own.
