On stoking the home fires 🔥

Hello beautiful people,

Your end of August newsletter is a few days late because life has been full of goodbyes to say and bags to pack. So I’ll keep this one short and sweet.

This year has brought its fair share of unexpected turns, one of which included taking three trips back to Nebraska.

As a wanderer, returning to the people and places that shaped you can be tricky. Every journey changes you. That can make things hard, for both the traveler and the ones who stay. Sometimes it feels like they don’t quite understand you anymore… and maybe you don’t fully understand them either. The dynamic shifts.

My friend and former vagabond calls it stoking the home fires.

I almost didn’t make this return visit. My cousin was getting married, and the stubborn part of me kept replaying the memory of my own wedding three years ago, when the only family member who showed up was my mom. Part of me thought: She didn’t come to mine. Why should I go to hers?

But I also knew I didn’t want to live a life led by grudges. I’ve seen first hand what that does to people, and that is not the kind of person I want to be.

And deep down, my intuition kept whispering to go and stoke the fires. 

So I did. Because I want to move through life with love and set an example of presence. Because if I want people to show up for me, I need to show up for them.

Though I am grateful for the people who show up for me and remind me how loved I am whenever I’m back, being in the States for any extended time usually comes with its challenges for me. The magic I feel while traveling is hard to find in a place that doesn’t quite nurture my expansion the way I wish my home would. 

So I’m writing this with a combination of excitement and nerves from yet another airport on my way to what might just be the biggest adventure yet. (They keep getting bigger somehow? Or I keep growing. Or both.)

For now, though, the home fires are stoked. It’s time to return to the Himalayas and see what magic awaits me there. 

Whatever it is, I’m always looking forward to sharing it with you all.

I hope you can make someone smile today,
Holly