Striving for Peace

Peace - striving for it. Longing for it. Searching for it. Needing it.

Our days are filled with caregivers, therapists, nurses, doctors, and occasionally visitors.

So many people. So many conversations. So little quiet.

All of these encounters are incredibly important - critical, essential. But they come with a cost.

Quiet, peace, solace - are often sorely lacking.

The House of Quiet Light has provided countless hours of just that - peace. 

But is the house truly the source? The marsh? The water? Can a place offer peace?

One afternoon, a delivery person bringing groceries met me with a smile. I helped her carry the bags to the front porch.

As she returned to her car, she paused - just standing there - door ajar, eyes closed.

I asked her if everything was ok.

'Absolutely'. she replied. "I just love it here. It's so peaceful". 

Confused and a bit curious, I pointed out that she had only been in the driveway.

"Would you like to see the water? It's a great view."

"No thank you. This is just fine."

She entered her car, smiling, seemingly content and drove away.

I was so puzzled.

She saw the 'boring part of the property.' How could she have been so affected, just delivering groceries up the driveway?

Is the peace there that prevalent, that obvious, that palpable?

That experience has been repeated many times: not quite in that way, but many visitors have shared the same thing.

"It's so peaceful here." "I could stay here forever." "I don't want to leave."

The Presence of Peace - I'm so grateful for it. And so grateful to share it. So thankful that it's being enjoyed by so many.

Belhana - House of Quiet Light - A Presence of Peace.