Belonging

I've begun an adventure to live 3000 miles away from my lifelong home, accompanied by my 13-year old son.  My husband remains in Alaska with my family on a multi-generational homestead where I grew up, while our son and I explore living in Northern California near his family.  I've traveled south to seek sun, heat, and new opportunities. Along the way, I'm sharing my journey about pursuing dreams, discovering what matters most in life, and finding the strength to be brave in the face of uncertainty.  For me, healing and strength are often found in simple pleasures and frequent communion with nature, so join me as we embark into the outdoors to reveal what's inside of us.

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BELONGING
(Sense of place)

"Every experience of love, bliss, belonging, inspiration, and insight provides a stepping stone back to your true self." - Deepak Chopra

I never realized how linked my sense of self was with my sense of place.  I am not only a girl  from Alaska, but a girl made of Alaska.  I cannot separate myself from the environment where I was formed. 

I may leave Alaska, 

but it never leaves me. 

It's no wonder that I have felt so out of place and foreign here in California.  After a couple weeks in a new dwelling, new job, new state, new family arrangement, and with new nearby relatives it became clear I needed a grounding experience to bring me back to some sense of myself.

Sense of place in geographical terms "involves the human experience in a landscape, the local knowledge and folklore. Sense of place also grows from identifying oneself in relation to a particular piece of land on the surface of planet Earth."  Finding a sense of place, a touchstone to bring me back into alignment with my heart, was as simple as getting into a quiet place in nature.  

I found the ideal place to center myself at Crystal Creek, just west of Whiskeytown Lake.  Wading through the clear water into the woods worked marvels toward getting me back in step with my purpose and filling me with peace.  Nature is my bliss!  And such additional bliss to watch my loved ones revel in the place as well. 

After a couple hours, the place felt like it was mine, like it was ours. That sense of belonging helped me to plant my feet a bit firmer on this new ground.  My heart opened up to the beauty of the sights and sounds and flowed with the water that trickled around my toes.  I let my hopes and wishes be carried like leaves down the creek to whatever destiny lay ahead.

It was like each barefoot rock-hop, or knee-deep step in the creek brought me closer to an unburdened state of being.

Though I might feel totally out of place, totally lost without the comfort of my familiar people around me, totally detached from love, totally incapable of handling every challenge with grace...I am always totally capable of taking a walk.  And therein lies my salvation.  So long as I can put one foot in front of the other and take myself somewhere that I might discover a unique stone, a beautiful fall leaf, a ray of warm sun, or a creature in its niche habitat, I will find perfect purpose in the place where I am.  And if I can find purpose in my surroundings, then I also have hope that I can create a sense of belonging in this new place.  This journey will not be for nothing.