In bullfighting, the place in the ring where a wounded bull retreats from the matador to regain his strength and prepare to return to the fight is known as “querencia”. The matador fears the time when the bull finds this “safe haven” in the ring, because it signals the moment when the bull becomes a formidable foe; the moment when the matador is truly in danger.
I often find myself able to identify with the injured and weary bull. There are times in my life that I seek the comforting energy of a specific location that will allow me to breathe deeply and calmly renew. For me, the church provides this space.
I love my home, and I adore my family, but there are stresses associated with each that by their very nature keep me from being able to truly renew within and among them. At church, I am not expected to clean, the phone doesn’t ring with someone asking me to commit my time to their endeavors, and I do not feel constantly “on call”. (It should be mentioned that at the church I do often clean, and I even answer the phone occasionally. But I do these things there because I choose to, not out of obligation.) Sunday mornings among the UUCG community are my time of renewal, and I emerge from our blue rectangular building spiritually strengthened, and immeasurably more formidable.
Is there a location that provides this sense of solace for you? Someplace that serves to renew your spirit and strengthen your soul? Where is your querencia?
Christiana
