The Inner Room

“Do not be swayed by the opinions of others. The secret to breaking free from confusion.” The Art of Simple Living, Shunmyo Masuno

By: Gabriela Yareliz

All of us can have an inner room. It’s sort of like an inner chamber of the soul to where we can retreat to find stillness and peace. Wise counsel should always be heeded, but in a world full of noise, I think it’s imperative we press a pause button at least once a day to meet with God.

In my mind, when we pray and enter God’s presence, we tuck ourselves away into a space where nothing touches us and reaches us but Him. I encourage you, if you haven’t found the stillness, clarity and peace you need (we all need it), find your way to that inner room of the soul where all fears and voices are silenced but one.

It’s a place of refuge and a place of understanding what cannot be placed into words.

Every day, we have a choice to make as to what path to follow, what voices to give attention to and whether to really make decisions and deal with reality or to continue on a different path. These days, it’s not too hard to lie to ourselves or stick to a path of least resistance.

If there is anything the stillness of winter offers us, it’s a reminder to not be afraid to retreat into what looks like silence. Silence sometimes looks scary to us, but as a winter forest scene reveals, even in the silence, things are very much preparing to burst forth. Nothing wrong with the rest and quiet a period of time can offer. Seek it. Let it revitalize you.

I’ve learned over the years that the inner room is a refuge from raging storms. A needed place to let down the anchor.