Storm Desmond was in full swing as I dropped the soggy umbrella in the stand just inside the bank door. In the tatty back office, the bank official had all the paperwork done. I paid the last installment on the mortgage. The deed was done. The deeds to the house were dusted off and handed over. As I sat there, it seemed at first like an anti-climax. Then, out of the blue, tears welled up. I had an overwhelming sense of wishing my parents, both decades dead, could visit the debt-free house. I had a fantasy of them sitting by the fire, content and happy to be sitting in my home, just being there together. The poor mortgage consultant was a little alarmed as I blubbered away. She handed me a tissue from her handbag. I thanked her and left. The rain and wind were really driving now and the 365 sign was creaking on its hinges above the bank door.
“Then I knew what a house says to the people who make their home in it” – I recalled Eleanor Flegg’s words from her story A Great Uprooting: “It comes up behind you and whispers in your ear: You have a life. You are a family. This is where you are from. When the home is gone there is only the whistling of the nomad wind.”
As I battled my way through the nomad wind towards home, I thought of all those who were without a home this day. Families living in stark hotel rooms. People lying in doorways with only sodden cardboard for shelter. The millions of refugees hemmed in by fences, riot police, fear and suspicion in no-man’s lands.
The Christmas lights arched across the street were jiggling in tug-of-war alarm. The Merry Christmas sign flashed on and off, uncertain of its own sentiment as Desmond tunneled through relentlessly.
I thought too of the journey made that first Christmas, over 2000 years ago, by a family travelling from Nazareth to Bethlehem -‘internally displaced persons’ in their own country. By now, I had arrived at my own front door. Closing it firmly to block out the storm, I sat down, content to be in my very own home. “May you be safe, may you be well, may you live with ease”, the words of Loving Kindness meditation came spontaneously as I thought of all those all over the world who are uprooted and homeless…. ” and may you find a home”, I added, waiting this Advent season in hope for love and light to banish all storms.
– MJ
Highlights from the Sanctuary Programme for 2016
Loving Kindness with Fidelma Farley
This 5-week course will teach the Loving Kindness meditation practice, an age-old practice that develops the ability to connect to and open your heart, by bringing a gentle, kind awareness to your emotional responses to yourself and others. Starting Thursday 14th Jan 2016, 2.30pm – 4pm.
Art of being Still with Sr. Stan
This 6 week evening foundation course is an invitation to go within and develop the art of meditation. Starting Monday 11th Jan, 7pm – 8.30pm.
Managing Change and Transition in our Lives – Mindfully with Teresa Larkin
A 6-week day course to learn how to mindfully manage change and transition. This day is for beginners and those experienced in the practice of mindfulness, and for those who want to look anew at the challenges presented by change and transition. Starting Tuesday January 19th, 10am – 11.30am.
Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) with Carolin Grampp
This 8 week Monday Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) day course is designed to cultivate the skill of self-compassion. Starting Monday 25th January, 10am – 1pm, full day of practice on Saturday 27th February, 10am-4pm.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with Niamh Bruce
This is a formal 8-week course on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. You will learn to notice your thoughts, patterns and any automatic unhelpful reactions. You will learn how to hold and relate to thoughts and emotions less judgmentally and more compassionately. Starting Monday 25th January 2016, 7.00-9.30pm, full day of practice Sunday March 6th 2016, 10am-4pm.
Mindfulness for Teachers: .b Foundations Evening Course with Dominic Cogan
This 8 week evening course is based on the core mindfulness principles found within Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) courses. However it differs in that it has been designed with school staff in mind. The training sessions and recommended home practices are shorter than MBSR/MBCT and designed to be accessible, yet still effective, for busy educational staff. Starting Tues Feb 2nd 2016, 7pm – 9pm.
Living Mindfully with Grief with Sheila Doran
This new 8-week course has been specially developed for people experiencing grief following the death of a spouse or partner through illness or old age. Starting Wednesdays Jan 27th, 10am – 12.30pm, full day Mar 30th, 10am – 4pm
Food for Thought – A Mindful Approach to Eating
This 6 week Friday afternoon (plus one full Friday) course on mindful eating is about giving a gift to yourself – the gift of appreciating the food that you eat. When you are more aware of your relationship with food, you have more choice, more possibilities about what is nourishing for you. Starting Monday May 9th, 7pm – 9pm.
To see our full range of courses please click here.
Looking for some ideas for Christmas Gifts? A selection of CDs & Books on themes of meditation and mindfulness by Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy and others are available to purchase from the Sanctuary’s online shop. Gift Vouchers which can be used against all Sanctuary events, courses and resources are also available to purchase. To browse our selection click here.
