When we leave home and begin our journey to the sacred future, we discover that we have to grieve the loss of home and open ourselves to a world where we can't rely as much on the way things were done at home as we have to rely on strangers to help us find our way. Thus we discover strangers who help reveal new dimensions of ourselves to our own self-understanding.
But, when we are out on the road to that unknown future, we also have the opportunity to discover some internal strengths that we didn't know we had. When I was in an important transition in my life and the familiar people and roles were not available to me, I had to try to survive in new ways. Before the changes occurred in my life, roughing it was staying in a Motel 6 rather than a Holiday Inn. But, as I was making my way around the country discovering my new sense of self, I traveled with a tent and a cook stove. I learned to sleep on the beach under the stars and cook a great cup of coffee over a fire.
In traveling outside my familiar spaces, I discovered that I had not only the capacity to survive on much less, but that I liked the feeling of strength and freedom which that discovery offered. In the wilderness of the soul, I discovered treasures within my own make-up that I had never seen before. The familiar things that I had surrounded myself with had insulated me not only from having to adapt to the discomfort of traveling light, but also insulated me from the treasures within myself that I discovered in the discomfort.
So, as you journey through life and occasionally leave home, or when home somehow leaves you out in the cold, see what you might pick up on the road. See what strengths you might have that you never knew you had. Those discoveries can enrich your life when you return home. They can enable you to live with less fear because you know strengths you may not have known before.
