Place of Belonging

Not only is our sense of belonging with our family, but I am deeply aware both in myself and my children that there are deep ties to the physical homes of our being too.  This painting by Vancouver Island artist, E. J. Hughes, epitomizes my sense of physical home here on the West Coast.  I have walked for hours on beaches just like this one, feeling the wind on my face and the sand in my feet.  I can almost smell the freshness of the sea air and hear the breakers crashing and gulls calling overhead

These days I live tucked away in those mountains in the distance of this painting.  I always feel comfort when I am near their solid foundations and can smell the thick cedars and fir with the salt air from the sea rising up to mingle with their green fronds.

All my children were born within a few miles of where we live today.  Especially for my children by adoption, the physical proximity to the mountain and sea places that they can remember helps to ground them, even when some of those memories hold both pain and joy.

These days I am leaning in to my physical place here and am constantly being refreshed and strengthened by nature and my physical surroundings.  I am consciously mindful of my earthly roots  and am increasingly aware of looking, listening, feeling, smelling and even tasting of the physical delights all around me.  Certainly spring for me brings a sense of new beginnings with the longer days and warmth of outside beckoning!  I rest in the grounding and life giving spirit of my place here in this small part of the world that is my home.