Another Sacred Place

I visited the All England Tennis Club last weekend, more popularly known as Wimbledon. And at the beginning of our tour, the guide advised that we could take photographs of whatever we wanted, and go just about anywhere, but we couldn't touch the grass. In fact, we weren't allowed within a metre of the grass. And we were warned that there were surveillance cameras and if we touched the grass we would be asked to leave the tour.

The reason? The grass is sacred. Well I guess it's more of a case of not wanting it damaged in any way, but the guide actually said, "to us, the grass is sacred."

What is sacred? The common dictionary definitions include

1. Dedicated to or set apart for the worship of a deity.

2. Worthy of religious veneration

3. Made or declared holy

4. Dedicated or devoted exclusively to a single use, purpose, or person

5. Worthy of respect; venerable.

6. Of or relating to religious objects, rites, or practices.

 

Yeah maybe they qualify under definition 4, as the main courts are ONLY used for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships each year - no one plays on that grass at any other time. And each year, the grass is ripped up and sown again from seed! You've got to respect that!

 

I wonder, what in your life is sacred?