Home Away From Home

Friend: “Living away from home must be hard, don’t you miss it?”

Me: “Well, yeah!” 

The thing is, it can be, but you simply have to do the often uncomfortable and scary.  Not only that, but you have to find your home away from home.  On occasion I step back and wonder, “but where is my home and where am I supposed to be?”  Well I am 100% certain that home is where the heart is – it is where you make it to be; it is inside of us; it is where the people we know (or come to know) and love are!

I have had this conversation on numerous occasions with my classmates, who are from all over the world; also out of their natural and usual environment.  We are in Italy, but all striving for the answers of where to go and what to do from here.  The longer I am away and the more I learn, listen and observe, I realize this really is a lifelong search.  It puts me at ease because, really, it should be an ongoing endeavor – that is what life is all about, right?  We should always challenge ourselves further and learn more.

Nonetheless, there is always comfort in the knowing. 

I have said it before and I will say it again – I am here for the people!  What I mean is I am not put on this earth to be alone, and the great thing is, I am not alone and never will be!  With that realization I am confident there is life everywhere and in every single thing - which I am also a part of and affected by.

 
I have found that my paths have led me down roads where I have felt alone many-a-time, and through those experiences have realized something needs to change, even if it is just my perspective.  Instead of giving up, I just turn around, go back to the fork in the road, and choose the next route.

Along the way I have come across hundreds of people - some just in passing, but others who have been there in great times or have picked me up when I’ve fallen, kept me company on my trek, provided new perspective – those who have gotten to know the true me, my “inner self”.  It is in these either random acquaintances or in the dear relationships I hold where I feel my best and brightest.  I am fulfilled when there is an exchange of sorts – either a conversation or just simply a presence.  

I am so blessed with all those in my life I have been influenced by and (hopefully) returned such blessings to, for this is how I grow.  I know I am influenced even from those I have not met, and for all those bonds as well I am grateful.

Amongst all the uncertainty in this time of life I feel a sense of clarity and know everything will follow how it is meant to if I continue to interact, share, and connect - no matter where I am on my journey and in which direction I am traveling. 

- Embrace the Detours; Happiness is a Direction, not a Place -