Is sacred ground still sacred when you dig it up and put it somewhere else? Despite my lack of organized religion, or perhaps because of it, I believe in hallowed ground. Places that make you feel more connected to the universe, yet set apart from others.
This is how I felt the first time I was brought to the piece of land that would one day be my future home. It was a place of mystery and seclusion that let me be who I was to the fullest extent of the laws of nature. A place so unreal that I fully expected a pterodactyl to fly overhead at any moment.
There are places such as this for all of us who are seekers. Even in the dismalness of Monroe, which a wise friend recently referred to as “the wankerishness of the local aura”, there are places that rise decidedly above the rest.
1. The Moon – A place so named because of it’s landscape and seclusion. There is no formal entrance, nor is it listed in the phone book. You just have to be brought there by someone else who wants to share it’s secrets with you. It is a place to grow and a place to grow up.
2. The Garden at St. Alban’s – I was brought there to light the candle and tell my story. And to listen. To take a deep breath and to let go.
3. The Maze – The most “sinister” destination of the three, the maze is usually the first place a young seeker in Monroe is drawn to. It’s nastiness draws us in and keeps us going back until we find other places that are less populated, more secluded, or we simply get to old and scared to climb up and under its walls.
This place, this town, this aura of local wankerishness is not as horrifying as it sometimes seems. Where is your hallowed ground?
