So I wasn’t especially planning on having a full 2 months at home. But since leaving England for the USA 8 years ago I haven’t spent more than 10 days in one go with my family at ‘home’. After being on the move for coming up to 6 months I was pretty ready to rest somewhere familiar for as long as I could! Usually my trips home have been rushed and shaded with jetlag and exhaustion so to have some time to just be there was amazing.

Living life on the move is exhilarating, challenging, exciting and exhausting. The highs are high and the lows are low, and I am so grateful for this time to explore and re-imagine what life can be. But I was also glad for time of true hibernation to rest, relax and reconnect with my original ‘Home’. My family live in the same house we moved to when I was just 4 years old, so it really does feel like home – nestled in the green hills and woodland of the Peak District National Park in the north midlands of England.

I walked most days, slept as much as I needed to, ate real food and enjoyed settling into a rhythm of life, which involved no rushing, stressing or being overly ambitious. I started remembering my dreams like I haven’t for years and got to be present in my relationships with my family in a new way. Prioritizing hibernation with the faith and knowledge that this time will charge me up, and fuel me for the rest of the year was so worth it.

America certainly doesn’t make rest easy and the collective consciousness there does not really consider re-charging to be something of value. In America I always felt like I was running behind, even before I had started my days. The deficit of energy expenditure was tangible, although I didn’t really notice it until I left. I feel like so many problems in America are down to this atmosphere where no one really knows how to look after themselves or what they need to feel good. A disconnection that permeates the unconscious, pushed away by being busy, ambitious, entertained and consumed with what is next.

I arrived back in Lima a week ago, with plans to be in Peru for another few months, and came down to see a friend in a little beach town called Punto Hermosa, just an hour south of Lima which is currently warm and sunny and pretty much the opposite of the English winter. Gently coming out of hibernation, and feeling truly ready to tackle what is next with presence and energy.

Hibernation Successful. ;)