Holy Ground

Joel Goldsmith says wherever we stand is holy ground. Joseph Campbell tells the story of the Vedic saint resting his feet on a sacred symbol. A priest comes along and is outraged. The saint says where can I put my feet that are not sacred. The priest keeps trying to move the feet only to discover that everywhere he tries to put them, the sacred object pops up underneath them. He catches on and moves on his way.

If everything and everyone is sacred, it begs the question what does it mean to be sacred anyway? We often think it means being special in some way like the neon sign on the church across the street that says, “You are the most valuable thing to God.” If I don’t hold anything in particular as more valuable to God has sacred lost its meaning? Is there anything in this world more valuable to God than anything else? If I accept that everything is indeed sacred, would I move through this world in a different way? Would I value everything equally or would it mean though I have reverence for everything, I could care more deeply about some things than others? What does God really think about all this anyway? Does he/she/it even think about such things or consider humans in any particular way. If I pray fervently for myself and others, is there really someone or something listening that truly cares about my existence or my suffering?

I would like to believe so and yet, I very much hold to the notion that God doesn’t distinguish, that the love of the universe belong to us all in equal measure, that indeed we are all equally sacred and equally valuable.