Whether you’re six or sixty, if you don’t already have a secret place where you can be uninterrupted by yourself, perhaps it’s time you found one. Either in nature or near it, such a place offers you the opportunity to escape from the world for a few minutes and just… enjoy the view.
Your secret window on the natural world allows you to be refreshed and restored with a minimum investment of time. You needn’t engage with anything except your imagination.
Your secret place need not be large or spacious. You only need room enough to hunker down for a short while to take a moment from the demands of the world. A woodland setting is ideal, but less remote places offer good possibilities too: a spot beneath a special tree or the quiet corner of a deck, balcony, rooftop or beach.
Even a secluded park bench or stone can work. The key ingredient is that it is available to you when the stresses of the day call you to it.
As children, many of us had a secret place. Perhaps we knew something back then about the need for balance that we forgot along the way…
I have a house where I go
When there’s too many people,
I have a house where I go
Where no one can be;
I have a house where I go,
Where nobody ever says “No”;
Where no one says anything –so
There is no one but me.~ A.A. Milne ~ Solitude
Text and photographs copyright Amy-Lynn Bell 2012
This is gorgeous! You are amazing! =)
Glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
Lovely. I will need to look for a new one in Canada!
Lynne, I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding one here. I’d offer to help, but then it wouldn’t be your secret place.
I totally agree that this is vitally important to one’s health and well being. In an urban setting sometimes one has to look for patches of green for an oasis.
Eva, there’s something that happens to the human mind and soul when it’s exposed to nature. Even studying in a green space is supposed to increase retention.
Yes, secret places are wonderful. I had two or three when I was a girl. Now I have a small wooded area I can retreat to. However, I need to remember to do so more often; somehow, in the busyness of life, I forget. But it always makes me feel at peace when I remember and spend a little time there.
Susan, it’s that peaceful feeling that makes the time spent there so worthwhile. Just a few minutes there can have a positive effect on the whole day.
Lovely post.
Lovely idea.
If I told you about MY secret place, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore. 😉
Exactly Sybil. Though I can see how an extrovert like you would likely have to at least tell one of the dogs!
“need for balance” hear, hear!
Judy, we all need it. Why is it such a challenge for so many of us to find it? Maybe it’s because we’re reluctant to pay the price: having to actually say no to some good things in life in order to say yes to something better.
Something we all need. Thanks!
You’re welcome Patti. I hope you already have a secret place of your own to go to.
This is so true, and it´s good to be reminded of it. Lovely photos.
Thank you Giiid. Nice to learn that it’s true on both sides of the Atlantic 🙂
Nice images – love Canada, next place on my list!
Thanks Juraj. Canada is a beautiful country with a variety of landscapes. It’s a lot larger in person than in books or on the Internet.
The beauty of solitude is severely underrated in today’s world! Thanks for sharing! I promise myself to visit my secret place more often now.
Kyohinaa, it certainly is underrated, as well as the silence that often accompanies it. So glad the post prompted you to visit your secret place again soon.
Near the house in Maine where we would spend summers there was a “secret spot,” a hollow bowl set in the tree-covered dunes, fringed with twining vetch and Queen Anne’s lace and beach roses, accessible only by crawling through the grasping undergrowth knotted around the rim. One side of the sandy depression dipped slightly down to the river, offering a veiled leafy view of the passing boats and the lobstermen loading lights – reeking salted herring used for bait – and unloading lobster on the public dock on the far side of the river. In the center of the hollow was a fire pit ringed with stones from the river, where my friends and I sat around small driftwood fires talking about fishing, the boats on the river, and the relative charms of the girls we knew. It’s now gone, that spot – the vegetation finally got the upper hand – but I’ll never forget it.
Mmtread, with a vivid memory like yours, I don’t think that wonderful secret spot will ever be truly gone. It certainly was extraordinary. Wow!
lovely photos and great post ..my secret place is not a secret its my room i get a nice view, the room is small in size with just essentials but i loved it the moment i set eyes on it
Itssrijana, thank you 🙂 Your comment about your special place reminded me of the Beach Boys’ song ‘In My Room.’ Size matters not. What it does to your soul is what makes it THE place for you.
🙂
Reblogged this on Maddglass's Blog and commented:
This was an inspiring and simple piece of advice I ran across this morning., just what I needed to hear so I’m sharing in hopes others will find it and it will give them the sence of hope and CMy day with
Maddglass, thank you for spreading the word. If it’s just what you needed to hear today then I am thrilled 🙂
LOVED this post, I have a secret place. I actually have many secret places. These places inspire my writing. Recharge my batteries. Leave me with peace. Thank you for the reminder.
Mesiegweeks, I often think that it’s in these peaceful quiet places that creativity is most easily sparked. One can never have too many secret places 😉
thanks for a a milne
Journalplace, wasn’t that just the sweetest poem? In the original publication, it was illustrated with a drawing that shows a structure similar to the one my six year old grandson created by himself in the photo at top. Perhaps this type of secret place is in the mind’s eye of many little boys from different places and times.
In the shadow of an old walnut tree…
Hegorrhoids, the best shadows and secret places are the ones made by trees.
Hello from a fellow Canadian! Wonderful idea for a post – thank you! Reminded me of a secret place we had growing up. Because of the way our big old lilac tree grew up against our deck, there was a little space under there where we’d sit. It was magical – surrounded by leaves with the light filtering through… one of my favorite memories from childhood. Thanks for the reminder!
Cheryl, those lilacs would have smelled so wonderful too while they were in bloom. We had lots of lilac bushes in my yard when I was growing up in Northern Ontario. There were two large ones that offered a secret place in between. Perhaps everyone should have a lilac bush in their yard.
This exactly:) I’ve made our house my children and I’s collective secret place – each of us have our own spots, and nooks. It took a very long time, lots of collaboration, and letting go of many things, but it’s possible…it helps that it feels like we live on a farm when we actually live in the city! Your photos and post are beautiful – thanks so much!
Jillbware, your home sounds like a wonderful place to grow up. What an inspiring idea, especially in the city! Glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
This is a lovely post…very idyllic and poetic!
Thank you matanom. It’s idyllic but also magically available to anyone for the price of a few moments.
love it. great poem at the end, too. you’re right in that we all need our secret place, no matter what age we are.
We probably need it even more as we get older. We just don’t realize it and waste our time thinking we need something else, like a trip to the mall.
Thanks for capturing the beauty of nature! 🙂
Jmj, glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Lovely post! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome mindfulacting. Glad you enjoyed it.
I too enjoy secret places. Very nice site. I look forward to visiting your blog again.
Garden Gate Project, nice to know I’m not alone. Thanks for stopping by.
🙂
Great post (really like the accompanying images also). I have a secret place; I should try and go there more often.
Thanks for sharing
Littleskew, glad you enjoyed the post and photos and already have a secret place of your very own. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
your photos are relaxing (:
Jella, I never thought of them that way. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
oh yeah you’re welcome 😀
Thank you for the inspiring photos and quotes!
Faithisinthelittlethings, I’m glad you were able to catch a breath of inspiration here.
Dear Blogger, It was lovely to see this piece of art in this page …amazing……in this world it is so difficult to find a secret place of yours where complete peace can be achieved…… and you are so lucky to discover that …… yOu are truly a nature lover !
Sareeta72, I do love nature very much. Secret places are out there waiting to be found by those who know in their heart that they exist.
Reblogged this on curlanche.
Thank you kindly CurlAnche 🙂
Really calming scenes. Good work!
Max, nice to know they had a calming effect 🙂
Really inspiring! I loved this post! It is so true that you actually need ‘a nature spot’ of your own to escape the worries of life. I loved the thought! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
Thanks Ann. Nice to read that you were inspired. Nature is there for all of us to tap into when we feel overwhelmed.
Great blog post! Secret places don’t have to be physical spaces to leave us feeling recharged and energized. My ‘secret place’ is in my head when I’m writing. I can visit anywhere I want by creating a story.
Thanks Ruth. It sounds like you have a secret garden of your own. Good for you.
I totally agree with this! I have one in a ravine near my house
Chuu2venge, glad you agree 🙂 A ravine sounds like an excellent spot for a secret place.
Thanks for your beautiful post and wise advice. I am currently looking for that perfect secret place of my own.
Enjoy Your Words, if you keep looking and believe it can be found, then I’m sure you’ll stumble across it in no time 🙂
I love the solitude poem. Everyone needs a special spot to go and be alone – without alone time some of us feel sorrow and can’t figure out why..
Love it
Katie
http://katieraspberry.wordpress.com/
MontrealDSL
Katie, I love that poem too – it’s so simple yet it offers a perfect solution to the complications of life.
I think Freshly Pressed is your secret place today, Amy-Lynn. Congratulations. What a lovely post. Have had so many special spots in the woods over the years.
Kathy, not so secret a place it seems 😉 The woods offer so many special spots. The best ones are so secret the mosquitoes haven’t found them yet 🙂
OK, tell me where to find THAT KIND of secret spot. The mosquitoes are in charge of our woods. Have you hypnotized them during midsummer’s eve with the assistance of that fairy king?
Kathy, they’re not as bad here as they’ve been in past years. Maybe it was that little talk I had under the Elder tree 😉 There has to be some connection to the belief that attaching elder branches to your hat wards off mosquitoes.
Truly, our mosquitoes are getting better, too! Interesting, very interesting…
your blog has rekindled my childhood memories! always wanted to ahve my own little deserted place in the woods or jungle or the mountains in which to disappear into! but mortgages, bills, work, family..all interefered! but…one day….!
Filmcamera999, don’t wait for the mortgages, bills, work and family to go away first. The real secret of the secret place is that it will help you fit all those things into your life more sanely.
ha! thanks for your positive urging! thats what i need at this moment…bills, mortgages, even one or two relatives are stabbing me in the back! need all the pos encouragement i can get!
Love this … you are right about kids and secret places. I had a special play place under the forsythia at grandmothers and another in the grape arbor.
Thank you for sharing!
Ammey, those sound like a couple of wonderful places, especially the grape arbor. How lucky you were. I hope you’ve taken at least one secret place, or a longing for one, into adulthood.
Congratulation on being freshly pressed!
Thanks Sam.
I love Milne.
Asoulwalker, me too. What a wise man he was.
That is so true.
A place for ‘me time’ is vital. Wonderful photos 🙂
Thanks mystudentstruggles. Quiet and solitude can indeed work wonders when nothing else will do the trick.
GREAT POST! I love being outdoors! There are so many interesting “natural” nooks and crannies that can be discovered in nature!
Thanks zoetic*epics. Those nooks and crannies are all waiting to be explored. We’ll never discover them if we stay indoors 🙂
I have a house where I go
Where no one can be;
I have a house where I go,
Where nobody ever says “No”;
wonderful phrases.
The only place where I feel comfortable is in my house.
Nahed, it’s too bad only turtles and snails take their houses with them wherever they go. Although this allows them to move more slowly than the rest of us, perhaps they have the advantage.
I’m leaving abroad, very very far from my secret place. Thus I’m trying to find a new one, but it’s kind hard.
Very good text!
Leandro931, I’m sure you will find a new one soon as long as you keep looking. Your new secret place may be VERY different from the one you left behind but it will still be YOURS.
love this !
Melissasoding, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Reblogged this on Online Haven and commented:
Where one can find solitude and serenity. Nice!
Thank you Avie for helping spread the word 🙂
These are beautiful!
http://www.thecameraangle.wordpress.com
Thanks. Glad you liked them.
Yes! I love this post! We all need a hidden place to just drift off for a bit on our own terms whether one is a child or adult. Maybe even climb a tree if in the right spot!
Milkhousestudio, a place for ‘drifting off for a bit on our own terms’ is exactly it. One up in a tree is great. Just don’t drift off too much or you’ll fall out!
when i was a child i also had a secret spot, a place just for me alone where i always used to go and sit and play with my dolls or just get away from everything.. i feel like as adults we rarely have a place like this and i dont know about you, but i really just need to get away from everything sometimes and just be alone.. great post!! 😀
Abichica, spending some time alone every day is key to keeping our busy lives in balance. Some people need that alone time more than others. Much depends on what your environment is like during the rest of the day. I hope you can find a quiet place. I remember feeling so calm and at peace playing with dolls by myself when I was a child. Maybe there’s a reason why so many older women start collecting them again.
I know exactly where mine is. 😉
Rynneesdsd, good for you 🙂
Reblogged this on This beautiful life.
Joiedevivre74, your sharing is appreciated 🙂
I do like those dunes. My secret place is in Iceland. Not on the map. Shh.
Harold, the calm lines of those dunes make for such a peaceful landscape with the roar of the waves in the background. Nice to know there is at least one wonderful secret place in Iceland.
true that one should her own secret place where she can be herself. i wish there’s something like that in metro manila…. but at the moment, my private place is my mind.
Administrator, busy cities are a challenge but don’t stop looking. You may be surprised what you can find. In the meantime, I hope your private place refreshes your spirit when you go there.
My favorite secret spot was in a tree at my stepmom’s old house. I was the only one small enough to climb up it, and the only way anyone could see me is if they were on the sidewalk below, looking up. I miss that tree.
Thanks for the beautiful photos — I wish I could see the field in the fog in person!
Asignoflife, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. We’ve had a lot of fog here lately. It’s tougher to drive in but softens the edges of the landscape in a way that’s so comforting.
One great advantage to being small would be to be able to fit into a greater variety of secret spots. The world must have looked so different from that viewpoint up in the tree.
You’re right, everyone should have a secret place.
Writingforeverwherever, I hope you have one too 🙂
Beautiful! The images are lovely, and I totally agree with the need for a special place. I think many people forget or don’t realize how important that is. Maybe you should also indicate that personal spaces like these are not to contaminated by mobile phones, pagers and any other digital device which keeps you ‘connected’.
Audrey, I think it’s because of the growing presence of always-on digital devices that we have an even greater need for quiet places where we can reconnect with ourselves.
You are lucky to live in a country where people love nature. Most Thais don’t, although I try to show the beauty.
Ketsanee. http://www.dokmaigarden.co.th
Dokmaidogma, well at least that is the impression Canada seems to give to the rest of the world. However, I’ve often written about how much local people take our wild spaces for granted and use them as dumping places for their garbage. It’s a huge sore spot with me, though, like you, I try my best to show the beautiful side of the country.
Amazingly refreshing !!! Beautifully Nature
Thank you charmerende 🙂
I wrote about this just the other day, beautifully put. Everyone needs that space, that time, that little spot where they can be just them. 🙂 Brilliant and poetically put!
Thanks eruditereflection. It’s interesting how being with others all the time doesn’t allow us to be ourselves in the same way as when we’re alone in a quiet spot of our own choosing.
I would totally agree, i’m an incredibly social person, bubbly, outgoing, confident yada yada… but people close to me are always surprise how much time I spend just by myself. If your comfortable with yourself, your own company is a pleasure. To really unwind and relax, to work through whatever’s troubling your brain and enjoy some quiet time. It is in my opinion, the best time.
My secret places havn’t really changed over the years. I still like nooks to squeeze myself into. As a child it was a crawl space under the stairs or in the middle of a bluff of trees. These days it’s the stairs in my backyard or sometimes this weird ledge in a park that you get to by going through less travelled paths. Some days other people are found there but more often than not it’s quiet and empty. Lots of tree coverage and a little creek. It’s a lovely spot in the middle of the city and the sound of traffic is almost blocked out. What kinds of sound can/can’t you hear in your secret spots?
Ajesusyear, the area where I live is becoming more ‘developed’ all the time. This ‘progress’ means more intrusive noise from traffic, neighbors using tools outdoors, their kids yelling or their dogs barking. Weekdays (when everyone is at work) are quieter and allow more for just the sounds of birds and the wind in the trees. The softest sounds in the woods are those of mourning doves. On foggy days, these are especially haunting. Near the ocean, the best sounds are of stones on the beach being knocked against each other as they’re churned by the waves.
I have a secret place
I keep it with me all the time.
I hold it close
So when I’m on the tube
Or sweating in my car
Or when the endless chatter grows too loud
I can slip through the gate and leave all that behind.
I have a secret place,
It’s very far away
And still mists linger there
About cities made of cinnamon and light.
Everything I know is there
And better, everything I’ll come to know.
For years I kept it hidden,
This secret place of mine,
For fear that it was brittle
and might shatter before another’s eyes
but now I’ve learned to unlock the door
and show it to those I touch.
Now my place is filled with laughter
And no secret anymore.
Johndburns, your secret place has inspired such lovely lines. Thanks for adding them here 🙂
Nova Scotia is a beautiful place. Secret places are essential for escape, even if only for a few minutes.
Spoon Feast, Nova Scotia is beautiful. It has a raw beauty that seems to spark the imagination. The sea is a big part of that I think. So many potential secret places abound here.
My mom is from Glace Bay and I am very familiar with the magical sea and wonderful secret spots at my grandmothers house. From the dirt cool basement, hideouts along the brook, to my aunts seaside garage. These memories make me smile!
Those memories would make anyone smile Spoon Feast. Being a child in Nova Scotia is pretty wonderful.
I agree that everyone needs that special place. I am currently trying to find mine. Brilliant post.
Thanks Summer Buckets. All the best of luck finding yours.
And secret places are so much better when they’re green and leafy! We live at the edge of a forest and I spent much of my childhood hiding in trees. Now it’s come full circle and my little boy does the same thing.
Naomi, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to surrounding yourself with green growth. Every little boy should have an opportunity to hide in trees 🙂
Your words and images bring to mind a favorite quote by Thoreau:
“You only need sit still long enough in some attractive spot in the woods that all its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns.”
Cameron, thanks for adding such an insightful quotation. Sitting isn’t difficult. It’s the sitting ‘long enough’ that makes all the difference in what you’re able to see.
Beautiful! Cheers to you!
Thank you 🙂
Nice photos, especially the ones of the log!
When I was a kid, I lived in a condo with my dad. There was this uninterrupted wooded area between the back of the condo and the houses a few streets over. Nobody ever went there, so I made it my secret place. I always went there after school got out. I even made my own hammock out of a bedsheet. Thanks for posting this and making me remember how awesome that place was! 🙂
Claudia, I’ve been visiting that log for about 20 years I think. It has many faces, all of them quite photogenic.
What a great secret place you had… and with a hammock too!
What a lovely post. It really reminded me of being a child and finding secret places.
Shaggygirl, if you found them back then, I’m sure you still have the skills to find new ones today.
That’s true! Actually I play a “game” (for lack of a better term) called Geocaching where you find things hidden by other players using GPS co-ordinates (nothing interesting is hidden, it’s more about the finding). I’ve discovered some wonderful hidden places this way. Places I definitely wouldn’t have stumbled upon otherwise.
Shaggygirl, I haven’t done any geocaching but know some people who absolutely love it. Each one is a secret, sometimes hidden in plain view, waiting to be discovered.
Lovely
Thanks.
Beautiful!
I had a tree I loved to climb when I needed to escape. I’d go up it with a book and a little square, blue pillow with a rabbit on it. It was lovely up there.
I don’t have a secret place anymore. Pretty much impossible with a 3.5 yr old and a 1.5 yr old. I do enjoy weeding in the garden when hubby is watching them. It is my therapy 🙂
Amanda, when my kids were that age, I’d go out into the back woods and clear brush for a couple of hours while my husband watched them. Very similar to pulling weeds 🙂
This great. I never had a secret place, unless you call sneaking under my trailor a secret place. I should find one now. Need to retreat sometimes from the chicklins. All kidding apart I really needed one special place it might have helped my situation.
Danielle, short retreats from the chicklins are vital! The best places are ones where you can still hear/see them but they can’t see you.
If only.
Danielle, you have to believe it’s possible. Even when my three were 2, 3 and 4 years old I’d retreat to the back woods within earshot of the house so my husband could call me if he had any problem looking after them for a couple of hours each weekend. That little bit of time by myself alone in nature made a big difference.
Many mothers retreat into their gardens. You don’t need a big one to lose yourself in it for a bit of time each day.
Reblogged this on Under an Artichoke and commented:
I think my secret place was always books, especially childhood favorites that felt familiar and yet also opened me up to the possibilities of other worlds (the Anne of Green Gables series, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn). But it was also the orchards behind my parents’ house, where I’d wander on summer afternoons and pretend I was hunting in a jungle. After I moved away, it became the coast, where I’d watch and listen to the waves crashing against rock or lapping the sand.
It also became the front stoop of my parents’ house, where I’d gingerly sit down past midnight after the rest of the house had gone to sleep, just to be alone and looking up at the stars. Their distance put my world in perspective but also reminded me of the continuity of the ages. I remember it being so quiet except for the faint chirping of crickets and a distant train whistle occasionally punctuating the silence. And I remember feeling whole and at peace.
Thanks for reblogging trinachka and adding such beautiful reflections to the topic.
An excellent piece of advice for young and old. I still try to find a secret place. Most of the time it is a walk in the woods.
Grumpa Joe, a walk in the woods is hard to beat, especially when you’re the only one walking the path.
It is hard to beat until you came face to face with a quartet of fierce looking badgers.
Well hopefully those badgers are more talk than bite. We don’t have them here so I can only guess what they’re like to encounter on the trail. I’ve almost tripped over a porcupine on a path in the pre-dawn light. Perhaps it’s a given that paths that are less trodden upon by humans are more likely to be used by wildlife.
Reblogged this on A Vitae and commented:
A place where you are yourself.
Neacalabia, it is indeed ‘a place where you are yourself.’ Thank you for reblogging 🙂
Amy- Lynn, I read your wonderful post a few days ago and came back to express my appreciation. I see congratulations are in order too!
Thanks Colleen. Nice of you to come back 🙂
I need a secret place.
I think it’ll be hard finding one though. As a teenager, I cannot really venture far from home (particularly as I have no sense of direction whatsoever) and there aren’t many places that are secret and still safe near where I live.
I’d like a secret place though. It would do wonders to my writing.
Pixiepot, be creative and persistent and I’m sure you’ll acquire a secret place of your own. Some people in urban areas create them on balconies by surrounding themselves with plants. The second image of this post was taken inside my living room. I have different types of vines growing both inside and outside my house. It’s amazing what cozy green spaces you can create indoors as well with a little creativity.
the X woods is cool. nice post.
Thanks yosephvera. I wondered if the trees were trying to tell me something about that spot 😉
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