It may seem at times like you’re thousands of miles from where you want to be, but step back for a moment and maybe you’ll see you’re actually just on a long journey home.

This crisis has disrupted the plans of so many people across the planet. In my world, friends and colleagues are in China are wondering when they’ll be able to travel and see family outside the country again. For those who weren’t able to return, they are wondering when they’ll see their friends and homes in China. Some, for a multitude of reasons, may never return.

For my family we chose to come back for many reasons. One compelling reason was so that we could say goodbye. The decision to leave China in July had been made many months before we heard of Covid 19. Sheltering in Australia during the worst of the pandemic in China we knew we had to return. This was our home, the only home our son had ever known. We had to say goodbye to close friends, people who had supported us for the better part of a decade. We had to have closure. My heart cries for those people who never had the chance to say goodbye.

Currently, we don’t know when we’ll be able to leave. Flights are booked but in this new pandemic stricken world there’s no guarantee the flight will depart as scheduled.

Like so many people I’ve been struggling with the lack of control I have over my life. There have been times in the last few months where I honestly had no idea where I’d be in July, how I’d get there and when I’d go.

During this time I have found a calmness by practicing mindfulness and meditating. Last week, just when I needed it most, I heard the story of the American Golden Plover’s migration from Argentina to the Arctic Circle and back. A journey of up to 20,000 miles every year. The final message resonated so strongly I had to share it.

So as you go about your day, consider the shorebird’s incredible migration. It may seem at times like you’re thousands of miles from where you want to be, but step back for a moment and maybe you’ll see you’re actually just on a long journey home.

(For those interested I use the Headspace app and highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t already. #notgettingpaidforthis)