Remember What’s Sacred

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Remember what’s sacred. This phrase keeps coming up for me these days. As a society, I feel that we have lost a sense of sacredness. Sacredness, which is defined as having divine quality or worthy of respect and reverence, seems to be lost in present day life. In our schools. In our families. In our lives.

Schools have become a place of over-standardization, where we value test scores and numbers over creativity and the joy of learning.  

Remember what’s sacred.

The rise of violence in schools and other common places is leaving everyone in fear and controversy over what next steps should be to rectify this growing epidemic. Even human lives do not seem to be held at the highest standard for many in our society.

Remember what’s sacred.

Families have given up designated family time where they eat dinner together and have opted instead to connect to the fast paced, plugged in, multi-tasking life of today’s average person.

Remember what’s sacred.

Mothers are forced to rush back to work when their sweet babies still need them. Two parent incomes are “needed” to sustain today’s lifestyle. Parents spend more time with their coworkers than they do with their families.

Remember what’s sacred.

It is like as a society, we have completely forgot what matters most, and I believe the time to go back to what’s sacred is long overdue.

So, where do we begin?

How do you decide what is sacred in your own life? Because it always starts with you. As Sufi poet Rumi reminds us, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”  

It always begins with us.  

  • If we don’t start carving out and prioritizing what is sacred in our lives, then we cannot participate in a ripple effect that will transform society.
  • If we don’t show our children what matters to us, they may not understand the value of prioritizing.
  • If we don’t set up boundaries and say enough is enough and start living by our own standards, how is anything ever going to change?  
  • If we don’t stop comparing ourselves to others and waste our time wishing we had different lives, then how will we ever be truly present for the lives that we do or could have?
  • If we continue to give up our time to what doesn’t have real meaning in our lives, how are we going to inspire or be inspired?  
  • If we don’t take the time to ask someone how they are and really listen to their answer, how are we going to cultivate a culture of empathy and understanding?
  • If we don’t stop and really see people, then we perpetuate them feeling invisible.
  • If we continue to be complacent and conform to that which doesn’t serve our souls, how will we ever be fulfilled?
  • If we continue to be caught up in the “stuff” and not the people who matter, what message are we perpetuating?

Sometimes the basic act of simplification can be revolutionary. Sometimes we need to go back to the basics–start with a clean slate– and remember what matters the most.

And so today, I want to ask you, what is sacred for you? And how are you going to begin making space for that which you identify? Our society needs you to make this shift in your own life and energy first. Be the person who sets up a boundary and says no to something that doesn’t serve you. Be the one who questions previously conceived norms. Be the one that says, family first–sorry, I’m not sorry that my time is too valuable. Be the one who takes time to listen to others, even if their opinions seem strange or different to you. Be the one who sets an example for our children. Be the one who helps us remember…what’s sacred.