In June I wrote about an art therapy ritual for travel and with all the summer excursions I wanted to write about coming home. Last month I completed a training on perinatal and postpartum mood disorders in Philadelphia. My husband and infant daughter tagged along, checking off a few milestone for her first uber ride, train ride, and flight. I’ll spare the details of the enormity of the meltdown on the way back to Asheville and just say it was very, very good to be home.

On less literal terms, I think a lot of us relish in the feeling of coming home within ourselves. Some people get that feeling through yoga and meditation. For others it’s reading a favorite book or journaling. And, of course there’s art. The feeling of coming home is about aligning, centering, and grounding. It’s the moment your body naturally takes that deep breath and you feel safe and secure in who you are. It’s like hitting the “reset” button on your mind, body, and spirit so you’re more available to give and receive freely.

It feels good to come home, AND it’s also hard to cultivate the time and energy to build this kind of practice. For me, building in accountability helps. This means scheduling self-care in advance, having a partner to do things with, and creating a budget specifically for things that nourish me (so that I don’t feel guilty spending money).

My hope is that this month’s group offerings serve that purpose in giving the structure, space, and support of making art in a group setting. Finding a practice where you can cultivate the feeling of coming home will be rewarding in ways that won’t just affect you. When you keep coming back home to yourself it affects everyone you meet because that kind of energy is contagious.