Going Home

Have you ever gone back home to the place where you were born and raised?  What was that like for you?  I did last week for a book signing event.  The last time I made this journey was five years ago, and I don’t remember the few and far between times prior.  My brother and sister-in-law fetched me at the Denver International airport, and we headed off for the two-hour drive to ‘the farm.’  The farm where I spent the first 17 years of my life.  Here’s what I noticed.

Some things looked smaller.   The canyons where we grazed our cattle didn’t seem as grandiose as I had remembered them to be.  The houses and outbuildings appeared to have gotten tinier even though they are the exact size that they have always been.  Main Street felt less robust even though some of the same businesses remain.

And other things seemed bigger.   The vastness of the farmland that stretches for miles and miles is breathtaking.  The farm equipment used by the farmers to tend to their land is massive, and most notably is the immensity of the hearts of the folks who make up this tiny little community located in what feels like the middle of nowhere.

The People

I hadn’t seen most of these people in over 30 years.  One was my high school English teacher, and others are parents of kids who I played sports with, and we were in the same class in school.   A few rode the same bus to school with me back in the day.  Some are friends of my mom and brother and sister-in-law.   And of course, there were those who I was meeting for the very first time.  Regardless of the connection, they all have one thing in common; they are salt of the earth, hardworking, generous men and women who care deeply for their family, their country, and their friends.

These individuals graciously carved time out of their full schedules to support me at a book signing at the public library in their town of Wray, Colorado.   My book, Keep Your Ass In The Saddle, describes how this small but mighty farm community was instrumental in my life as a young girl.  It was the foundation on which I have been fortunate to use as a reliable and influential base to build my life.  It is a good place to have come from, and something that makes the top of my gratitude list.

I have my own home now — a little slice of heaven in Southern California.  It is a place that provides safety and sanctity, peace and contentment, solitude and surprise.  And, as the saying goes, ‘there’s no place like home.’  Over the years, I have found this to ring true for me.  No matter where I travel, it is always so good to return home.  This visit back to where I came from was no different.

Welcome Home

And then I got to thinking, wouldn’t it be great if we embraced this same yearning about ourselves.  To evolve to a place in our being that is comfortable and so authentic that we never want to leave it.  To have the courage and the resolve to be ourselves without comparing ourselves to others or thinking that we need to be a certain way to fit it or to be liked.  To wholeheartedly accept our uniqueness and embrace the ease that our true essence bestows upon us.  To trust that all we need and all the answers to our questions and all the possibilities in the world and all of the relief our soul is seeking lies within us.  That is what I call home.  I invite you to come home to yourself and stay there.

Stay true and be you —

Annie