Peace Among The Peaks

The term "Home" is a multi-faceted word; going beyond the simple definition of a 'permanent place of residence among a family household'. This concept of having four walls, and roof over your head, diminishes the true meaning of the word. To me, it is the wave of inescapable bliss that invades every cell of your body when you realize: home has always resided within our own souls. Known as ‘Querencia’, it is the “place in which one’s strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self”.

At the young age of nine, I still believed a “home” was the structured house around me. I had two parents, a sister, a dog, my own room and a yard to run around in; the epitome of suburban ‘American Dream’. However, this adolescent concept of what it meant to have a home was shattered in a split second as I caught my father breaking his vow of marriage to my mother. Everything I believed to be true slipped out right from underneath me. Nine years old and I suddenly found myself growing up quicker than most adults.

Years passed until my idea of having a ‘home’ slowly shifted towards that original idea of ‘Querencia’: the understanding that no one can bring you inner peace but yourself. I allowed the choices of others to dictate where I belonged in this world, never grasping the fact that home is, and always will be, the environment within yourself that your proud to show others; the rock solid foundation you built for yourself over the years. It’s the people and places you laughed with, cried about, and learned from. For this, a home is not constructed from concrete and wood, it is rather built upon the bonds we carry with us that mold our minds to become a powerhouse among this earth; igniting the spark that sets each of us apart from one another.

I never fully embraced this concept until I was immersed in the beauty that lies among the mountains of the world. I just remember everything around me going silent, my thoughts becoming incoherent whispers as I took in these prehistoric giants. Crafted from nothing but the forces of nature, these mountains tower over their respective valley’s, standing as sacred sentinels to the beauty that exists among each valley floor. No words can be strung together to describe the peace that exists within the silence of the mountains, it is a divine feeling more beautiful than words could ever tell.

I let the tears flow, releasing the trauma I allowed myself to fester in order to blame others for taking away my ‘home’ at such a young age. To this day, I don’t know if it was the fact the mountains existed so peacefully, or that the natural silence around me let me speak my truth, but I became aware of the comfort and home within myself. I lived life with blinders until this point, victimizing myself rather than truly living. The moment I stopped ignoring the stability already in existence within my own heart, I saw the vibrancy of life around me reflecting the growing light within my own soul.

This realization of how little I was going to witness of the world in my lifetime if I continued to move blindly struck me to my core. From this point, I made a promise to myself and the world around me that I would never again act with anything other than pure mindfulness.

Home exists wherever I travel to on this planet, making sure that I share positivity and love to anyone I meet. Home is making sure to help one person smile every day, or allowing an individual to have their personal story heard by a complete stranger. Home is unapologetically expressing your authentic self and attracting your true tribe from anywhere in the world. Home is the magical essence you exude and the story of how you were formed overtime by the natural forces around you; just like the sacred mountains that exist peacefully, steady and elegant, regardless of what is occurring around them.

I found peace among the peaks that day, learning to embrace my inner home and share it with those who still needed one.