I have always enjoyed those moments in springtime, when I’m able to witness birds gathering their nesting materials…. a bit of soft moss from my planter boxes, a fluff of dryer lint, maybe some found string or other material to weave into their nests. It’s a unique collection.
We build our own unique collections for our nests as well. You might ask, “where’s she going with this??!” The metaphor of nests has been on my mind lately, as I have just experienced moving into a new home, unpacking, arranging, and creating a cozy space for myself. Through the process, I realized that we each have 2 kinds of nests – external and internal. The exterior is pretty easy to identify. That nest is one we surround ourselves with, that is comforting, comfortable, visible to others, atmospheres that we create.
But what about the interior nests that we develop, that sustain us through the transitions and changes in our lives? And why are they important to nurture and embrace, just as much as we surround ourselves with our belongings?
Some of you know that I (Suzanne), made a huge decision last year to put my external “nest” in storage for an unknown amount of time, and travel to see family and old friends. I packed, unpacked, and repacked for a marvelous several months on the road…. same clothes, same car, same me. Everyone that I visited opened their homes to me, their “nests”, which sustained me through recuperating from COVID, traveling over 10,000 miles and many laughs and tears.
Sometime during the year, I realized that I still had my nest with me, but it was an internal one: being open to new experiences, acceptance of all my emotions, embracing friendships, recognizing my strengths, forgiving my weaknesses, embracing the love and shared time of those I love. And I realized what a gift it is to be able to be surrounded by the essence of my own “inner” nest when my external nest is changing, in transition, or blown apart by some unforeseen circumstance.
Ask yourself –
“What are the qualities of my inner nest?”
“Which of those qualities is most nurturing to me?”
“Does my external nest reflect some of my internal nest?”
“When has my internal nest nurtured me the most?”
Hoping that the week ahead will bring clarity about your own “nests”.
Suzanne & Patty
From M. F. in Oregon:
I appreciate this post. And I was thinking about how you sometimes want to crawl/stand/run out of your external nest into the internal, and the other way around. In that way you may always find a comfortable spot when needed, a place either internally or externally that nurtures and supports when the other is ‘having a moment’.
From V S-D:
Suzanne,
This post really hit home. Pun is naturally there.
I am still feeling the move from NC. I never felt it from NY to NC. Is it possible that move was more intentional? I’d planned it for 8 years. And we visited while waiting. The move from NC to Mi feels sort of like a snap judgment. And even though I/we visited it had been nothing we ever thought about. We were where we wanted to be and belonged in NC. Covid pushed me to the edge into another realm of why here. So your thoughts about an internal nest struck home and are comforting.
Stay at peace.
P.S. I realize I love being home wherever it is, because as Dorothy famously said, “There’s no place like home!”
Plus I’ve always been one to get homesick. So these are my thoughts on “internal nest. “