The Place YOU Call Home

Unless something changes before next month, this blog is a short introduction to next month's newsletter. If you happened to miss my newsletter lately, you can view them by finding Read My Newsletters in the right hand column.

I have long been intrigued by the concept of Home and what it means to all of us and each of us. I'm sure part of my fascination with this subject is because for so many years, I lived so far away from the city/state/country that I called home. Maybe this made me feel more sensitive to the feelings of home.

When does the place or city you live in become your home? How long does it take before a new place becomes home? Does it happen instantly or does it take some time? Are there certain things that need to be in place before you get this feeling? Can you live in one place for years and still feel like it's not really home? Do the feelings of home change? These have been things I have wondered about over the years.

I remember when I decided to leave Sweden to return to California in 2011, I was surprised by the responses of many people - especially those who had lived in Sweden for 20 and 30 years. When I told them my news, there were many who said, 'I think often about going home'. For some reason, I had thought that most of those individuals had made Sweden their home and that they no longer entertained thoughts of going back to the country where they were born. I had never heard these people ever say anything about 'home' before, but it was obviously something that was always present for them.

I am soon off on a trip to Sweden for a visit and that's why I think next month will be the perfect time to explore the topic further in my newsletter.

In the meantime, what are some questions or thoughts that come up for YOU about home?

Bejeweling Television

I have a confession. Sometimes my mind just needs a break. Sometimes the inspiration needs some time to find me (read last week's blog here for more on this). Sometimes I just have a need to do activities that really have only one effect and that's to help me tune out. I really wish that weren't so, but right now, it's the way it is so I've decided to embrace it. I'm also learning a lot from it. So I thought by exploring this with you here a bit, there might be some information and/or insights that would help you uncover some truths about you and your journey.

Even though the activities I choose aren't horrible, I still sense a lot of judgment around these activities on my part. I wish I chose things like meditation and yoga. And while these might be my choices at certain times, my current choices are TV & mind-boggling games on my iPhone.  Whew--that feels good to admit! When I have had some downtime lately, THOSE 2 things are what I have chosen. It's really not very like me - I'm certainly NOT a video game person & the last few years, I've been much more picky with my TV choices. But this is what I've noticed and learned from these habits of late:

1) It didn't really help when I resisted doing these things because it always ended up that I did them anyway. So I stopped resisting & told myself this was just where I was right now. I reminded myself that I wasn't going to become a lazy hermit because of this. As a result, the judgment dispersed & I let it be what is was.

2) I've noticed that I have been really tapping into my creative energy lately. I'm not sure which came first - needing to tune out a bit because I have been more creative or being more creative because I have tuned out more. It doesn't matter. Right now, I'm LOVING the creative energy and following this flow.

3) I've noticed a pattern that I have a need for this sometimes before big events. I'm going off on a 3 week trip in a couple of weeks and it feels like I'm preparing myself in some way. I would like to find other ways to prepare myself, but this is the one I know now and I seem to be going with it. So I'll just go with it AND I'll be thinking of other ways that I might like to explore in the future.

We all have ways to 'turn off' and tune out. With awareness, this can be a way that we re-charge our batteries. However, it is important that the awareness is there. Without it, we might choose activities that are destructive OR we might choose them at the expense of other things such as relationships and connections. This can lead to isolation and loneliness.

So there you have it...my confession of the ways I choose to tune out these days. What does this bring up for you? Are there activities that help you 'tune out' that lead then to a re-charged battery? Are there some of these activities that you'd like to do less of or do you have a good balance? I invite you to explore your 'distractions' and see what comes up for you.

Tetris, anyone?

<p>Image: <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

The Inspiration Well

Isn't it a beautiful thing when the well of inspiration is full? You know, when you feel inspired to do the things you want to do and it feels effortless. Sometimes it even feels  a little overwhelming because there is SO much to do and it all sounds so good, you don't know where to start.

And then there are the times when the opposite is true. When the inspiration well is running on empty and it feels like everything takes effort. When this happens, it's almost like there is so little in the well, it can be difficult to even find that little spark of inspiration to get you started.

So what do YOU do to fill the well? Where do you find YOUR inspiration? Is there something you like to do that never fails to inspire you - maybe a walk in nature, doing something creative, listening to music?

I definitely have MY list of things to get my inspiration spark lit. And you know what, sometimes none of them work. This can feel frustrating & in times like this, it's tempting to want 'solve' this problem and figure it all out. But I've learned from experience that this is NOT the best way to deal with an empty inspiration well.

When I've tried a few of the things that usually inspire me and I notice that the inspiration still feels like it's gone forever, I know that THIS is the time to step back. Instead of pushing through and trying to find the inspiration at any cost, I must instead relax and stop searching. The more I search, the more I feel the emptiness of the inspiration void.

As I relax into this part of the inspiration cycle, things open up a bit. When they open, I feel these tiny shifts. I realize that I don't need to DO anything. As I relax, as I open, the inspiration energy flows. The more relaxed and open I am, the more likely it is that that inspiration will seep in - that it will find ME.

So, wherever you are in the inspiration cycle, remember that it IS a cycle. I invite you to truly enjoy the times that inspiration comes to you with ease and to appreciate the times that it feels as if it will never return. Explore the things that bring you inspiration and remember that sometimes you might to just need to step back. As you do, be open to those little signs, the little urges, the little shifts - this is the inspiration coming into the well in order to find YOU.

<p>Image: <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

Where's YOUR sense of adventure?

I've been thinking about Adventure lately & what it looks like to different people. For some, the idea of adventure is jumping out of an airplane, or going white water rafting or training and completing a triathlon. For others, it might be traveling to a new city, moving to a new place or maybe singing karaoke. It's fascinating to hear people talk about what is an adventure for them because it gives us such a sense of each person's comfort zones & boundaries. It shows these completely individual ways of testing the limits.

For me the kind of adventure I have enjoyed most is CHANGE. And really BIG change. A great example of this is when I was just finishing up my MA degree in TESOL at the Monterey Institute. As graduation was approaching I saw an opportunity to teach at a University in Finland. A temporary position for a year. I thought it was perfect -- abroad and relatively close to Sweden, where I'd lived before. So I applied and I got the job. I was a little shocked because I had no teaching experience, just my degree and I was hired to teach 5 university courses. Also, I was graduating in mid Dec and courses started the 2nd week of January. I didn't even have a current passport.

So, I went into action mode and got it all done. I arrived late at night and the head of the department came and met me at the airport. It had snowed A LOT so the plane was delayed. He picked me up in the taxi and had the taxi driver stop at a grocery store to pick up some breakfast for me and then we drove out to the graduate dorms where I would be staying -- outside the city just a bit. He dropped me off and I walked into to this little dorm room with my one suitcase and my little bag of groceries. It was really dark everywhere -- pitch black outside even with the white snow. As I walked in and felt the reality of being in a new country where I knew no one and starting a new job with 5 new classes in just a week's time, I thought OH MY GOSH, WHAT have I DONE?? I panicked a little then and in the weeks to come. This is a perfect example of how I have tested my limits.

When we bring in that sense of adventure into our lives, when we test our limits, what happens is that we are taken to an edge. You know that place where you feel like you are almost stretching too far? What is so exciting about that is that those edges are SUCH rich areas of learning. They can be challenging and very uncomfortable at times and SOOOOO very rewarding. This was certainly my experience with my year (which became 2 & 1/2 years instead!) teaching in Finland.

So, now it's your turn. What is adventure for you? What ways do you like to test your limits? Think about a time when you were brought to an edge--a time you felt like you were really stretching. How did you react? What did you learn? How might you apply what you learned then to a current situation in your life? And finally, what might a new adventure be for you in the near or distant future?

<p>Image: <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net" target="_blank">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>