A Daily Homecoming
The coming home from a journey can be just as important and celebrated as the initial departure. It's just as anticipated and often arrives with a crystalized sense of appreciation (or a clear lack thereof) when it comes to the current state of "home."
For me, coming home from my Spanish Kundalini Yoga adventure required a bit of process and "pay-to-play" questing by way of Copenhagen, NYC, and eventually back home to Capitol Hill. And when I arrived home, I was so very ready to be there.
That said, this journey of arrival taught me two very important things:
#1
Seeing your version of home (whatever that means to you - your home career, relationship, puppy, etc), with fresh eyes of absence is one of the most beautiful gifts of life. It's a forcing function to forget about the dirty floors or paint chipped cabinets, or the fact that your puppy acts like a Tasmanian devil when he first meets other living beings. And instead remember with such joy and celebration what kind of home you've created. Or, a chance to really check-yourself and if you are settling for something that doesn't feel right, creating change.
#2
The feeling of re-integration and the celebration of home dissolves quickly if you let it. To sustain it takes great effort. Less than a week home I'm again finding myself complaining about the same old "issues" and all the trappings of taking things for granted. I'm grateful to have the awareness of it, but recognizing the need to find the fresh beauty in the familiar - over, and over (and over and over and over) again.
I am determined to feel that same sense of homecoming on a more regular basis through gratitude and perspective shifting. I vow to remember that every time I enter my home - I have cause to celebrate. The simple and basic elements of Maslow's hierarchy, yes, but also the layers and opportunities of love, and laughter, joy and inspiration that dwell here too.
Coming home is a beautiful thing.