The Journey to Finding your Roots

“Roots are not in landscape or a country, or a people, they are are inside you.” 

Isabel Allende

As I celebrate one year back in the US after living in Mexico for 8 years I find myself nostalgic.   As I reflect on this period of my life I long for my friends, the language, the food and the chaos of the city but most of all for the experiences of great growth that living abroad brought about in my life.

It was an adventure that began as a student intending to study for (at the most) two years in Mexico.  The plan was to learn Spanish, have some adventurous fun, eat lots of guacamole, get my degree and be back.  But what ensued was a love affair and I don’t mean of the romantic kind.  It was a love affair with myself.

Yes, I got my degree and I learned Spanish and I did eat LOTS of yummy food but more than anything I learned about myself.  I learned who I was in the face of being completely different and out of place.  I learned how to navigate life on my own.  I learned how to let go and be led.  I learned how to be flexible and adaptable and how to live with less comfort and things. I guess you can say that I learned who I was and what I needed.

And what I needed was roots.  I needed a place to grow down into as well as growing out into the world.  I needed stability and fertile soil.  There is this sensitive, feminine part of me that I wasn’t allowing out to play.   I was smashing it down into the crevices of my being as I embarked on getting ahead in the world, on the search for a well paid job, on the hunt for what society and my family expected of me.

So in the midst of the chaos of Mexico City, a bit alone and confused, I was able to explore what truly made my heart sing.   It allowed me to set sail again on my own adventure, of going deeper into the ground that holds me, into the roots of my soul, into the depths of me.  It has been a journey, unimaginable and at times dark and difficult, and at other times light and frivolous.  It is a journey that continues…

As I think about what lies ahead for me, I am lit up by the thought of helping others along the path of creating authentic, rooted lives.  In the midst of life; in the heart of motherhood; in the darkness of divorce or joblessness; on the cusp of retirement; in the transition from dependent to independent, there isn’t a better time to embark on the journey to your roots.  Because roots are inside you, they are you and they will allow you to grow oh so much taller.   – JULIE JACK

————————————————————-

Julie Jack, whom many have already met as a Barre and Yoga teacher at Rivercity Pilates will be deepening her involvement with the studio as a Life Coach.  She will be offering private sessions by appointment, as well as a monthly (FREE) group for women focused on living authentic, vulnerable, full lives.