One of the things I’ve learned about traveling, is that getting back to an empty home in the US is hard for me. It’s the single moment in which being single hurts the most…having to get back to and empty home. For years I tried to just not make it so, trying to be strong and not let it hit me. It never worked. Walking into an empty home is my kryptonite.
In the four-fold practice, hosting self—is one of the four practices. One of the aspects of my healing process has been accepting my weaknesses instead of fighting them: it’s the way I hold space for myself. So now, I have a few friends who know that being welcomed home is important to me. The staples of being welcomed home are: a walk in the park, a meal with my best friend, a visit with my Reiki teacher, some live music. These are the staples of things that bring me joy: Nature, Connection, and Art. I started preparing my welcome home yesterday.
I called one of my best friends—and we have lunch planned for my first day. There’s a new restaurant I wanted to try out–we’ll go for that. Luckily, another friend of mine is playing in a band live the following week, that covers, my music fix.
Another piece about arriving is tending to my body. Some say that the soul moves more slowly than the body—as a result, after air travel, it takes longer for the soul longer to catch up—which is part of what gives that fish-out-of-water feeling. Part of arriving is tending to my body: I Reiki myself the morning when I wake up, then walk in the park, do some yoga, and setup an acupuncture treatment.
How do you hold space for yourself in your transitions?