Each one of us is alone in the world. It takes great courage to meet the full force of your aloneness. Most of the activity in society is subconsciously designed to quell the voice crying in the wilderness within you. The mystic Thomas a Kempis said that when you go out into the world, you return having lost some of yourself. Until you learn to inhabit your aloneness, the lonely distraction and noise of society will seduce you into false belonging, with which you will only become empty and weary. When you face your aloneness, something begins to happen. Gradually, the sense of bleakness changes into a sense of true belonging. This is a slow and open-ended transition but it is utterly vital in order to come into rhythm with your own individuality. In a sense this is the endless task of finding your true home within your life. It is not narcissistic, for as soon as you rest in the house of your own heart, doors and windows begin to open outwards to the world. No longer on the run from your aloneness, your connections with others become real and creative. You no longer need to covertly scrape affirmation from others or from projects outside yourself. This is slow work; it takes years to bring your mind home.

~John O’Donohue

when the happiest moment is hopeful….

inquiry for today~ what leads you home?

friendship in true faith

Come home to the forest

Where time goes slow

and the breath is mellow

Where thoughts find rest

and calm comes to nest

Come home to the woods

to be friends with trees

and listen to the breeze

to wander through trails

and mend your sails

Come home to nature

when your heart is hurting

or your soul needs healing

When something feels wrong

or you just need a place to belong

The forest awaits

Come home, be healed.

~Bidushee Phukan