Finding our way home when we’re lost in the dark.

When we step away from the darkness just enough to see something in the light, we’re able to notice the little things—things that make the world spin a little slower, and our minds step to the beat of our hearts.

Our focus shifts.

We find ourselves in awe, observing the clusters of needles on a pine tree, the smoothness of branches, and the way they twist around each other to reach the light.

Glittering snow under the street lamps’ glow reminds us of the magic we once believed in.

One week ago, my world was spinning so fast, and the noise was too loud to focus any part of me on these easily overlooked simplicities in life.

I have strayed away and been swept under the rug of other people’s expectations of who I should be, how I should feel, and what I should do.

I’ve questioned, doubted, and shamed every part of my existence—wandered off into a world of catastrophic what-ifs.

I’ve been swimming in the spit that landed on me after being kicked while I was down.

I’ve lost myself, and I am determined to find my way back home—the place within me that birthed every single great feeling.

I decided to make a change. A change that will hopefully ripple into my family’s future.

I arranged enough space to allow me to embark on a week-long journey toward inner strength and resilience.

For the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful. I can see the light peeking through the clouds.

I’m seeing what I’ve been too overwhelmed to see and learning that my feet are stable just enough to get me standing and walking—one step at a time. Each day has started the same yet ended slightly differently.

I’m learning to reframe. Reconnecting with whom has been calling from inside of me through the mess and pain. And none of this would be possible without just enough love to get me here.

I’m doing the best I can to make this experience worthwhile.

This evening, I laid on a couch with a pen in my hand, doodling a mala. As I shaded in the beads, I felt called to move my pen over just enough to ask myself some questions.

Here are some questions that may inspire us to revisit the core of who we are and guide us toward home within ourselves:

1. What makes me, me?

2. What are the pieces of me made of?

3. What’s important to me?

4. Could I name the colors of my character?

5. What skills do I have?

6. What talents?

7. What have I enjoyed?

8. How can I bring light back into those parts of me and shine through them?

9. How can I use that to guide me?