11 months ago I decided that I was not going to wait for life. I packed up my stuff and flew to South Africa by myself to visit an old friend. When I came back I put my belongings in storage, subletted a temporary place and started a new job. I assured the storage company that I would be out of my unit in 2-3 months – max.

Last week (almost a year later), I moved into a new apartment. As I cleared out my storage unit, it occurred to me that along with my belongings, I had put away certain assumptions about how my life would evolve AFTER I found my next home. It also occurred to me how little need I had for all of these possessions that had previously felt like such important staples of building a home.

Looking back, it’s been an unexpectedly busy year. I’ve been given every reason to diverge from my personal priorities and purpose. The challenge has been to return to my priorities again and again and again, every time new circumstances lead me astray from the things that matter most.

The big learning from all of this is that the return is more of an internal experience and really is about the process of finding a place of centeredness. I didn’t have to wait for the perfect apartment or for that peaceful, yet elusive state of stability to appear in order to pick back up my priorities or my hopes. I’m getting back on my feet little by little, but home was never something that required me to FIRST be somewhere else.

I think it’s worth asking every now and then, what are you saving for later? Time doesn’t slow down. What if a year passed before you returned? What do you need to hold on to and what is too important to quietly store away and save for later?