Everyone Has A Refuge To Protect Themselves From The Storm

In his labyrinth of spirits,  Carlos Ruiz Zafón said that  “anyone who strives to maintain a healthy judgment needs a place in a world where they can and want to disappear.” He described this refuge as “a small outbuilding of the soul where one can always run into hiding and throw the key to go when the world is wrecked in its senseless amusement play.”

This reflection really gives us something to think about. It seems  we all have that little corner, shelter, or shelter where we feel most secure. It can be a physical place, a place of mind, or a combination of both, with physical objects but also memories and hope.

It is a place that very few people have the right to approach and no one has gotten inside. It is a place where you keep your dreams that you have shared with only a few people as well as those that you have not shared with anyone. The same goes for the sources of pain.

Alicia Gris, the  protagonist of The Labyrinth of Spirits  ,  is almost always a resident of this refuge, but at the same time, she doesn’t know most of what’s inside. Very few leave this refuge, so his eyes are too tired to form the shape of the things inside or to recognize what defines it. Behind his safety blanket hides a portrait of an insecure person, as many people with flesh and blood are.

What’s in your shelter?

In these shelters, we preserve the scent of the people who helped us. We keep really special memories of those who do it every day as well as those who do it just for the reason that we would feel better. We also keep the things we cling to in our worst moments, as well as small rewards for our biggest wins. We preserve people who are dead, whom we will never see again, and whom we miss terribly.

This refuge also preserves the dreams we left on the shelf when we were younger. These dreams are proof that there was a time when they were in our hands but also that we have not picked them up again. There’s also a bunch of mixed “unspoken fantasies” that include the desire to leave everything and start really living.

-Are you okay Fermín?

-Like an angry bull.

-I think I’ve never seen you so sad.

-It’s what you choose to see.

Daniel did not incite.

-What did you say? Will we survive? What if I invite you for a drink at El Xampanyet?

-Thanks Daniel, but I say no this time.

-Do not you want? Life is waiting for us!

Fermín smiled and for the first time Daniel realized that his old friend had no hair left on his head that would not have been gray.

-You, Daniel. Only a memory awaits me.

Labyrinth of Spirits (Carlos Ruíz Zafón) –

Asylum also preserves our fears, the most fragile and vulnerable parts of all. Those we have put into words but who continue to scare us, those we know but we do not dare to reveal because finding the truth beneath it scares us.

We also preserve memories of times when we were the worst versions of ourselves,  as well as moments when we defeated ourselves. As we think of those times, we wonder how miraculously we were able to do it, being mere grains of sand in the universe.

In this refuge, we realize a vast space that is occupied by a good part of us ,  which makes us feel unique but also shrunk when we compare how small we are to the vastness of the universe, which in turn makes us feel substitutable.

So one of the biggest paradoxes lives in this corner of ourselves: being substitutable and disposable even though we are incomparable.

It is a refuge to go through, not to stay there

Spending too much time in this refuge would fill our eyes with an ocean of nostalgia where it would be almost impossible to navigate. It also brings us pieces from the past and the future, completely eliminating the present where all our feelings really are. People who spend too much time there go through the day with autopilot and reflect a sense of absence and distance.

In fact, all the positive things on those shelves, or stacked on the ground, are starting to spread a sad scent. At this point, our guts become completely detached from the image we reflect,  because the more time we spend in that place, the harder it is for anyone to get close to us. So they distance themselves more and more.

So what can we do to prevent this refuge from flooding us with negative emotions?

• Don’t isolate yourself from what’s going on around you. If you want, spend a few days alone, but don’t break your ties with people who love you.
• If you feel misunderstood, try to make people understand you instead of distancing yourself. The only thing distance does is add a misunderstood feeling.
• Always keep short-term goals. Customize them according to your stress tolerance, but always keep at least one project that will bring you satisfaction.

• Be aware of where you are, not only physically but also mentally. When you step into an asylum, take your time up and don’t let yourself stay there for too long. Balance the time you spend alone and the time you spend in company.

As you can see, this refuge can save you in many situations, but it can also become the worst trap you can drop into. My recommendation is to enjoy it as much as you can while you are there. However, don’t reduce your life inside those four walls, whether they were real or imaginary.