The way home.
I’ve found that traveling is a healing and rejuvenating experience, especially when done mindfully. But there always comes a moment in a journey when I feel the turn towards the end – towards home. It’s often laced with anxiety as I feel the sense of open space slowly disappearing, and the buzz of the “real world” and responsibility closing in. But on our way out this time, I was reminded by several things that what lay in waiting for me upon return wasn’t just a physical destination, it was was…me. And the accumulation of everything I’d experienced was residing within me to be tapped into whenever I wanted it.
The first reminder presented itself as we made our way down the curvy, ice road at the Northern most point of our road trip – we were met by a big, black crow. He attached to us, showing up and then vanishing only to show up again miles later. It was fascinating how much he lingered around us. After telling this to my friend who has been reading my animal tarot cards, she shared this significance about the crow with me: Crows can adapt to any environment. They are messengers calling to us about the creation & magic that is alive and available to us. This was wildly inspirational to me. It reminded me that returning home wasn’t the end of the journey, after all, it was the beginning of a new chapter and all the new things I learned about myself experienced on the trip were not left on the road. The trip just taught me how to access them so I could use them in my next steps in life.
The second came a little further down the road as we passed a road sign that said “Entering the municipality of Hope.” At first, I thought it was cute, and then it’s potential for double meaning dawned on me. Obviously, it’s referencing a township, but it felt deeper. Especially with the stress of going back home and to work creeping in. “Municipality” is defined as a corporate status… something official and permanent. So it’s a status of hope! But the hope of what? That’s where it became beautiful to me. It’s open-ended to be whatever you want or need it to be. Hope of a better future, health, love.
I’m learning that the more I explore, the bigger the world becomes and the more selfish I become about my life and how I use it. So, for me, reminders instill the hope that I can hold on to the joy, creativity, and open spiritedness I’ve developed while on the road and it’s always there to use in my personal development and my work.
PS: The crow was huge...