What feels like home to you?

Hello friends! I’m writing to you this week from Rapport Coffee in San Clemente, California. I'm here to stay for a while in the Golden State. I'm nesting for a while.

I’m slipping into a routine, trying on a more “adult” existence for a change. Thursday through Sunday I'm working at a restaurant, and I'm making time the rest of the week to write, read, and play. There are many little things that are bringing me joy like learning to measure coffee grounds and using a French press each morning. Running the same path twice a week. I’m creating a home base for the time being.

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to make a home. When do you feel at home? How do you make one? A friend of mine, Yiz, created a soul share deck of cards (one of my favorite possessions) and one of the cards asks: “What feels like home to you?"

I feel at home when I can be fully myself. More than any one physical space, home for me is

A feeling of acceptance

Sharing all the parts of myself

Feeling comfortable to wear, say, do what feels right

Space to do nothing sometimes

Being around people who know me for me

Home is a place where I do not have to apologize.

Being unapologetically myself is coming home to myself, creating a home for myself. I can create this space in many places in many ways. It is a sacred act to feel at home within myself.

This past weekend I tapped into the child-like joy of collaging and coloring with a dear friend. We spent an afternoon drawing, cutting out words and images from magazines, and creating vision boards. It was homey and sweet, and while flipping through pages I came across a quote that reminded me of another important aspect of what feels like home to me. Written in bold above a beautiful landscape scene the words read:

“No sorry on the mountain.”

Climbing up a mountain, hammocking in her trees, or camping under the stars are often moments when my soul is fully content. Shame and worries are forgotten. Apologies don’t fit into the version of our highest self. When we are grounded in love for who we are and what we are doing it is simpler to live unapologetically and in joy.

On the mountain or in our happiest adventure-filled moments, self-doubt and stress slip below the tree line. For me, creating a sense of home now means feeling deep into my core. Slowing, reflecting, and embracing all my thoughts and curiosities. Drawing and soul searching and accepting all I don't know. And not saying sorry for any of it.

I am nesting into an unapologetic, fully authentic relationship with myself. This feels like home.

Where and how do you feel at home within yourself?

Who do you feel at home with?

How can you expand this feeling in your daily life?