Home

Home. It’s probably the topic I return to most. What it means, what it feels like, who’s there. Having moved between 13 schools, over 20 homes, and several careers, it’s what I desire most – to belong, to feel safe and known.
 
I’ve been blessed to experience family – from a deeply-committed marriage that’s been through it all and emerged stronger than ever with three beautiful children and two (almost three) grandchildren, to work teams where everyone has each other’s back, laughs and cries together, and builds something important. It’s been quite a ride!
 
It took a pandemic to lead me home, though. Not to others, but to myself. As the world shut down and I quit a job that left me feeling drained and alone, my husband and I moved to a city where we knew no one and spent a year rebuilding. Within this environment, unplugged from responsibility for the first time I could remember, I began to shed deeply rooted limiting beliefs about myself and create new empowering habits.
 
Those first summer months of the pandemic, I got up early with the sun and walked the neighborhoods, my headset filled with the rousing messages of motivational speakers. Their energy was what I needed to wake up and begin to break through old habits of thought. Before long, my morning routine included consistent journaling and affirmations, and my heart felt lighter as I gradually embraced an unlimited, free, joyous sense of identity. Quiet late afternoon walks with my husband in the canyons nearby brought peace and renewal.
 
In the end, every relationship is an inside job. We can’t ignore caring for ourselves if we want to give our best to others. And so, I’ve taken the last couple of years to come home to myself, to learn not to presume what others think of me, to feel and trust my inseparable connection to my ever-loving Source, and to make gratitude and expectation my resting state.
 
Inner stillness, feeling at home with oneself and being satisfied with present lessons, is what I want for other women. This is  the journey we begin during Honest Growth trips, and it leads to the clarity, freedom, and joy that are ‘home’ for me today.
 
It’s an experience that we gently host – through guided reflection and opportunities to make deep connections with other women – unplugging in the quiet and inspiring beauty of nature to restore a sense of wholeness. Or home.