When I was little, I loved building forts.

I loved any tiny space that was cozy + contained.

Tents, forts, closets, a cramped cupboard, the crawl space under the stairs -- all of it felt like a magical portal + holy container + a door into Narnia.

A space that was Other, entirely separate from ordinary reality.

And while Adult Me can’t fit into those same tiny spaces anymore, I still try to create spaces of magic + mini sanctuaries for myself wherever I go.

It struck me recently I could do this not only with space but also with time.

I often give myself solid chunks of time - whole mornings or afternoons when I can - to create, think, do magic, meditate, feel for the deeper thing, and/or just be + feel + absorb.

But I’ve often found it challenging to sink into the treasure of that time.

Because I think I should be doing something else. Something more productive + useful + profitable.

But what if I thought of this time like a fort I was building: a sacred space + cozy container for the magic + treasures + adventures?

What if I could just designate certain spaces + blocks of time as entirely Other? Totally exempt from the rules of ordinary reality? Designated for magical + imaginative + mythical + otherworldly purposes only?

What if I remembered that I can make any space holy just with the intention I bring to it + the boundaries I create around it?

So when my brain tells me I should be doing something else, I’m going to practice saying: "Sorry, I’ve stepped into my fort -- a numinous space where the rules governing normal life don’t apply. This space is reserved for magic only, so you’ll just have to come back later."

When I practiced this yesterday, it transformed my whole day.

Instead of putting pressure on that time, I simply enjoyed it. I sank into the goodness.

Because a space that like that isn’t built for anything productive or practical. It’s only purpose is to catch the magic.

What might this space be for you? And what would it mean to give yourself that gift?