‘don’t think. it complicates things. just feel, and if it feels like home, then follow its path.’ r.m.drake
I had lunch with one of my favorite young women yesterday. She has been Ajay’s after school babysitter for the last year and she is leaving for Spain on Saturday where she will spend her next college semester. She is young and innocent in so many ways, but has this sense of purpose about her that is truly something to behold.
Age wise she is just on the horizon of her 21st birthday, but her soul is an old one. Light hearted and adventurous, when one first meets her they may think she is overly tolerant and naïve. From a distance I can see how this could be one’s impression of her- but up close, nothing could be further from the truth.
I have seen her tackle some very difficult emotional terrain in the last year. If life were a backpacking trip, I have watched her head off into a meadow- only to have it turn into a stretch of barren wilderness right in front of her. If it had been me- I would have taken my backpack off, thanked the Universe for the offer- and tip toed back toward the meadow I was looking for. Not this girl. Despite the trail signs that say things like ‘‘falling rock ahead’ she squares her shoulders, tightens her pack, and defiantly heads out into the same direction she planned on going in the first place.
Her great power comes from the fact that when the Universe changes the terrain on her, she doesn’t get lost in her thoughts about it. Instead she just follows her feelings- and like today’s quote says, if it feels like home, she follows its path.
She has taught me to see that when the terrain changes, it doesn’t always mean you took a wrong turn and need to head back. She has brilliantly demonstrated that the wilderness, although it is wild – is also a place of great freedom… and that if you’re feeling stubborn and don’t want to change the original direction you intended to go in, wild or not, you can homestead on any terrain the Universe puts in front of you.
In many ways, the world is hers, because she knows home is a feeling- and not a place.
Thank you for everything beautiful girl- and safe travels out there on your next adventure <3