Returning

I recently went on a trip overseas where I was gone eight days.  Packing for the trip was exciting.  Traveling on the airplane was exciting.  The trip itself was exciting.  Then day eight approached.  I was ready to be home.  In fact, I was now excited about that.  What I was NOT excited about was the process of packing and traveling to return home.  While I had enjoyed these steps when I was ready to embark on my adventure abroad, I wasn’t so thrilled to repeat them to get home.  And yet, I wanted to be home. 

When we are away and wish to return somewhere, we often must take the initiative to do the things to get us where we want to be.  Ironically, some of these steps are the very things that brought excitement at one point in the journey and now seem challenging, like packing the luggage and flying on the plane.  We want to get from Point A to Point B without doing the necessary preparations or actions along the way.  But if the goal is to get to our destination, we need to keep this site in focus.  Home.

This is where I am at in my life.  Some might view the past years of my life as a stage of wandering or struggling.  I would have included myself in this camp of thinking at one time.  However, I now try to view this stage as a needed journey of exploration.  Some parts I will leave right where they are: in the past.  On the other hand, I also can see that I simply reached a crossroad where I decided I wished to return to the core of Kiley.  This summer I went on the overseas pilgrimage as a symbolic act of taking the next step at the fork in the road.  That is where I metaphorically started packing my bags and boarding the airplane to return home to Kiley.  To the fuller, more authentic version of myself.  I hope you will join me on your journey of returning to your own version of home.

Changepoints:

Evaluate where you wish to return to and think about the following:

·        Have I arrived at the place where I want to be with myself?  If so, what did I do to get here so that I can remind myself if I ever start to wander?  If not, where would I like to be?

·        What is the symbolic “baggage” that I need to remove from my luggage to lighten my load?  What should I include so I can arrive safely at my destination?

·        What will the process of “traveling” look like to get me where I intend to be?  Will it take me home?

o   What are the rewards of returning?

o   What are the anticipated joys of entering into the pilgrimage?

Welcome to your adventure of returning. 

 outSIGHTin, LLC: Creating awareness as a changepoint for improved organizational results.