Thank you to all of you who reached out to me last week during Hurricane Ian. Wow, what a scary ride. The amount of devastation that has been left in my home state is still being calculated with the loss of homes, lives, and memories blown through so many lives.
From where I live, I was tracking the hurricane as it approached and it looked as though it was going to take a direct route into the Tampa area. It turned out I was soon on evacuation order so I ended up going to the east coast of Florida to seek safety.
I was a mess. I cried and stumbled about trying to leave. I couldn’t even think straight.
And I wondered after so many personal hits I have experienced in this life, why did this one feel so devastating?
(Watch the video I recorded on Facebook here where I share my fear and sorrow about leaving.)
I mean jeez, I have certainly been through many storms being from the northeast. I have lost a child, a brother, a marriage, relationships that went south, and businesses, why did this approaching storm crack me open so wide?
And what I realized, after many tears shed, was that this place where I live is not just a town, but my community. I mean I love this place. I love the people, the funky businesses, my favorite coffee shop, the friendliness of the people, my church family, I could go on and on.
But mostly, what I love most about this place is that it feels like home. A home where people love and accept me for being me. A place where I can blend in or stick out as I choose. Where I can be as friendly as I want to be, as quiet as I like, and no matter what, I am ok.
I am safe.
I am accepted.
I belong here.
And to this, I am deeply grateful and now in retrospect, I see why I was such a mess. I was going to lose something that I literally just found. Home.
What does community mean to you? Do you have a place, a home, a spot, a tribe of people that make you feel that way? If you do, celebrate that. Give your heart to your community, give more, tell people how much you appreciate them, pick up trash, and offer to help strangers, but mostly let’s just be darn grateful that we have that.
And for those of you who don’t have that, I feel you and you are not alone. I got you. I am here for you. I see you. Reach out, let’s connect.
In the next month, I will be creating a couple of online communities where we can lean in and grow together because I want more of it and I hear the yearning of so many seeking the same.
Will you join me? Details coming soon…
There has never been more of a time for us to band together and support each other with love and acceptance.
Thank you again for your support and for sharing this journey with me. I am deeply grateful for all of you as well.
Love,
P.S Have you checked my latest book, Claim Your Inner Warrior? Click here