Coming Home Once Again

Today, I arrived home after being away on a 6 week long trip to the Middle East. I had a fantastic trip that was productive and satisfying. I love traveling and 'adapt' to my new surroundings with a fair amount of ease. There is nothing, however, like the pleasure and comfort of returning home.

One of the first things that struck me as I flew in to Seattle was just how green everything was. Taking notice of the 'green' was partly due to the drastic contrast with the middle east landscape. The other factor was that when I left here at the end of March almost none of the deciduous plants had sprouted their new leaves yet. Flying in today EVERYTHING was bright, bright green. It was stunning, actually.

One surprise for me occurred when I walked out to get the mail from my mailbox on the street. It was getting towards dusk. A rather sunny day was coming to an end. I had forgotten (or maybe never noticed) the wonderful scent of the air here! It was so clean, fresh and invigorating!! I just stood outside and took deep breaths of it for a while.

All the green, this wonderful smell... I was overwhelmed with feelings of contentment and familiar comfort. Home. There really is no place like it!

Appreciating our 'home base' and reveling in its comfort is one of the great joys in life. I love that I can go away and be happy wherever I am, but that doesn't diminish the immense pleasure in returning to that base, once again.

I'm delighted to 'be home' in my outer world once again. For the next several days, as I recover from my rather severe jet lag, I will allow myself to be embraced by all those things familiar and soothing.

Enjoying the homecoming is as important as enjoying the traveling afar.

Be where you are. Give special appreciation to 'home.'