I travel enough to know that I am glad my job does not have
me on the road all the time. I travel
enough to keep life interesting. I like
going other places. Sometimes it is only
the neighboring state. But if I have to
be there two days, it means an overnight.
And that means a night in a hotel.
Sometimes I go abroad. It might
be Europe or England where I have been so many times, that it does not feel
foreign. But the hotels are different
there. Occasionally, I go to India or
China where the culture and customs are very different. A hotel stay there can be an adventure.
I have never thought much about hotels. And I never thought about them in any
spiritual kind of way. But as I was
drawn to ponder hotels in this fashion, I was surprised at what began to
emerge. It turned out to be fascinating
and instructive.
We all know that hotels are places to stay when we are away
from our homes or apartments. A couple
of my friends spend so much time on the road I imagine they spend at least as
much time in hotels as they do their own houses. But I know neither one of them would claim the
hotels remotely resemble their houses.
In fact, most of us don’t talk about our houses. We prefer to talk about our homes. There is a difference.
No one I know would ever talk about their hotel as their
house, much less, their home. Even if
they were to be there for a few days or, even, a few weeks, no one would talk
about it as home. Of course, they might
joke around and say it is their “temporary home.” But everyone knows they are not serious. And it probably is an indication of how much
they miss their own home. I know I have
been there!
So what do we get when we go to the hotel. Typically, we ask for a room for the
night. It might be for a few nights, but
it also has the sense that this is temporary.
Hence the hotel is temporary.
Only the most rare person would move into a hotel and say, “I hope to
live here the rest of my life!” Even
though I have occasionally been so relieved to find a hotel, I never thought
about it in any other terms than temporary.
I know when I get a hotel room, I am going to get a
bed. In fact, that is likely the real
reason to get a hotel. I am not getting
the room for the tv, liquor cabinet or shower.
All of these I could manage without having. But if I am to be gone all night, a bed is
nice---not necessary, but surely nice.
However, when I hop in bed, I am very aware it is not my own bed. I have never been in a hotel that has a bed I
like more than my own bed---even though sometimes the hotel bed is much newer
and fancier than my own.
As I write this, I realize it is not my own bed in my own
home that is so special. I could take
out my bed or buy a new one and it would not affect how I feel about my
home. The same is true for the rest of
the furniture. Of course, I get
furniture in a hotel room. I sit in a
chair and know immediately it is not the same as the old chair that I claim
every night at home.
And I get a television in the hotel room. Often I have more channels to watch there than
I buy in my own tv plan at home. I
appreciate the tv for the news and some sports.
But it is not special any more than my tv at home is special. I know I can happily live without tv. My tv is not what makes my home special.
I suppose one of the biggest differences my home offers that
the hotel does not is space. I don't
think I have ever been in a hotel room that has as much space as my home. And my home is very modest---having downsized
since the kids have gone. But big spaces
have never been of much interest to me.
I figure I can only occupy so much space, regardless of how big the room
or house is.
So what has this musing on a hotel room taught me
spiritually speaking? It has taught me
to appreciate simplicity, solitude and satisfaction. A hotel room---even a fancy one---is fairly
simple. I value simplicity---little
baggage to carry, literally or figuratively.
Ultimately, life is temporary. I
don’t need much to carry through life.
And if I keep it simple, life is going to be easier.
I also appreciate solitude.
I value being alone and having alone time to think, meditate and
pray. To be in solitude is also a form
of simplicity. It erases demands and
complications from life. In Thoreau’s words,
it allows me to “front” my life and face things honestly. To be alone means we have to cope with
ourselves.
I also appreciate the ability to be satisfied. Most people I know want to be happy. I am good with happiness, too. It is better than sadness. But I would much rather be satisfied. To be satisfied literally means to be
full---satiated is the fancy word. Of
course, since we are human we know that being full does not last. That is why we have to eat again and pray
again. But I do this to be
satisfied. I don’t need
extravagance. To be satisfied is to be
content and at peace. That seems very
spiritual.
Ultimately, I can have all this at home. However, it is when I travel and stay in a
hotel I get to see whether I really can live life the way I want: simply, in
solitude and satisfied. A hotel room is
a good place to practice being spiritual.
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