00:09
Hi, this is Katie, and thank you for joining me on the Creating Your Sanctuary podcast.

00:14
And this is a podcast about creating those little moments and space that support you.

00:20
And today I wanted to talk about exactly that, where I create sanctuary is when I create those present moments that I'm slowing down and thinking about sometimes nothing, sometimes, observing through all of my senses.

00:40
I'll take time and think about what I'm seeing, what I'm hearing, what I'm smelling, what, um, I'm feeling at the moment in terms of like a texture, maybe it's a warm blanket or, um, you know, a breeze.

00:57
kind of blowing through from an open window.

01:01
Um, yeah, just taking it all in of what do all of these senses combined?

01:09
bring me to into this moment, like what, how can I remember them? Because my memory is not great.

01:16
Sometimes I take photos, just to, I know that can be like a digital device that stands between you and the world, but sometimes I'll sit there and experience it 1st, and then I will take a photo so that I can see it later and then remember those feelings of that moment, whether it's smelling lilacs or tasting a new food or remembering that family is there or any of those things or just a quiet moment.

01:45
Of reading a book, maybe I'll take a quick photo of the cover of the book after reading for about 10 or 15 minutes.

01:53
Just something to mark the occasion.

01:57
Um, because it's like, for me, it's remembering that I actually am taking those moments.

02:03
I'm all for having like deep conversations with people because I think that brings you into the moment, like right then you can remember having those amazing conversations with people.

02:14
You can remember going out to eat at a restaurant and having that whole experience.

02:19
And grabbing a piece of ephemera from there, whether it's like a matchbook or a paper menu or something, I love to collect those little things just to remind me that I am taking important little moments, and those add it up, equal creating sanctuary for myself.

02:44
And having a plan that's just really loose, right?

02:49
Like, when you aren't rushed, we took a recent trip into Amsterdam, and we just left extra early and we meandered along the way.

03:00
We took the train in.

03:01
We took a bus, then a train, and then the bus, and each of those moments, We could be running from one to the next, but we had enough time in between to stop and then look out on the harbor and then go to the next spot and look out on the canal and then go to the next spot, you know, so we could take our time and talk about what was in front of us.

03:26
And then take pictures and then also just stare off in silence and kind of take it all in and not have to narrate everything when you're just experiencing it all.

03:39
Many of the times when I'm commuting, I put on headphones and I'm listening to a podcast or music or something and it does take you out of the moment.

03:47
I kind of do that because there are times when I want to feel very connected to what's around me and there's other times when I'm like, I just need to get from one spot to the other.

03:59
And in those moments, commuting, being distracted by something is great.

04:05
You kind of living, you're living in your own little world.

04:09
But those other times, when you want to take in your surroundings, making sure that you aren't listening to something and don't have headphones on, then those are the moments when I am using my senses smelling the air, feeling the brick underneath my shoes.

04:29
Um, feeling how, you know, I have to navigate, not in a street line, but maybe around things and noticing all the little details along the way.

04:40
So this is how I love to create sanctuary.

04:45
How do you like to create all those moments that help support you?

04:50
How do those moments actually support you?

04:53
To me, they ground me.

04:56
They remind me that I'm here because especially from our move here to the Netherlands, it's just like, I have to remind myself

05:06
I'm still here.

05:07
I know that will go away over time, but I sometimes I just need those little notes of like, no, you're really here and that really helps support me.

05:17
So however you're Creating Your Sanctuary right now, if you're just taking in those little moments every day and pausing and going slower, know that it's enough.

05:28
I'll see you next time.