Sanctuaries

be it the barstool at a favorite watering hole or a stretch of a path trod daily in silence, an independent movie theater whose matinees attract only the dedicated, time spent on a park bench in the overcast afternoon, a table at a favorite café near the window, a gym in which one works off steam, the top of a mountain hiked up to on the weekends or a stretch of the city bridge biked when its not raining, there are places that one feels comfortable alone (even if surrounded by others), that hold a calming quality wherein the mind is allowed to wander & where no one can get in from the outside even if they wanted to--- how fortunate are those of us who can still push the rest of it all completely out of the picture to focus on ourselves & appreciate the shortness of life for exactly what it is, in an instance of peace brought on by our own doing.