In this day and age, it can be hard to justify truly taking time to yourself. Sure there’s “self-care,” which is critical. But a lot of self-care is commodified and performative. Or at minimum, it’s a part of our culture’s to-do-listing of everything. Is taking care of yourself really taking care of yourself if it’s a check box under “do laundry” and “inbox zero”?
Contrast that with this notion of a time sanctuary.
Your time sanctuary can take any form that suits you in your life. An hour every day with no tech and no to-dos. A weekly walk in the woods. Whatever it looks like for you, it’s meant to be a space where all the trappings and distractions of everyday life are not an option.
I like the sanctity of this. Sanctuaries are a refuge from all things. The original reference to this time sanctuary concept positions it as a buffer or respite specifically from work. But I like to expand the sanctuary to be a space in time that is free from whatever habitually occupies my time and my mind.
For me, a time sanctuary can look a lot like self-care practices, but the intention behind it makes all the difference. I was initiated into a Vedic Meditation practice over the summer of 2022, and my twice-daily, twenty-minute meditation is the prime sanctuary for me. Leaving all logistics and strategy behind, it is a de-stressing moment, an effortless pause to my monkey mind and default mode.
What could be your prime “time sanctuary”?