Home Within

Have you ever visited a place and it immediately felt like home? A place like this stirs us to feel peaceful, grounded, at home within ourselves. There are a many places that have felt that way to me but a few stand out. Diving in Bonaire…being underwater, relaxed with the local sea turtle population gliding through clear, salty water is one place. Another place is the west coast of Ireland…a place where I felt so truly grounded into who I am, I considered moving there. And then there is the Smoky Mountains, specifically the upper elevation fir and spruce forests. This love for the Smokies started when I was a kid.

Yesterday, I was hiking through one of my favorite forests in the Smokies and stopped to breathe in the delightful aroma of the fir trees. Steam was rising from the mossy earth and birds were singing. The crisp air was warmed by sunlight filtering through evergreen branches. I was home, in every sense of what that means. I felt totally present. My heart was filled and poured love into the forest, just as it poured its essence into me. My bones vibrated to the harmony around me.

Several years ago, when I was trying to find a home as I moved back to Western North Carolina, I was frustrated. I’d been looking for over a year and nothing was manifesting. On one house hunting trip, as I was driving up from Alabama, I got to the intersection in Dillsboro where you go left toward Cherokee or right toward Asheville. I literally stopped in ‘Y’  intersection and heard this question: Where have you always wanted to live? My answer? Near Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That moment shifted my search. Soon after that I finally found ‘the place.’ It wasn’t until I moved in and the trees shed their leaves that I realized the long view from my home was the ridgeline of the national park. And within minutes I can be in the forests that bring such joy to me.

I feel lucky to live in one of the places that helps me feel at home within myself. But truthfully, there are many places that have helped me find my way back to myself. I am grateful for them all.