Coming home: To a Place and to Yourself

After spending a few days in Melbourne visiting family I’ve been reflecting on the concept and feeling of home and the environment you choose to live in. And it’s funny because although I lived in Melbourne for years and I’ve only been in my new home in the Northern Rivers for a couple of months, it already feels so much more like home and so much more “me” than Melbourne ever did. 

If I’m honest, deep down, I always knew when I was living in Melbourne that I didn’t want to be there. But I held a lot of guilt for wanting to leave. Guilt about moving away from family. Guilt for not being grateful. Guilt about not being happy in a place that on paper, should have felt like home. I won’t lie, sometimes the guilt can creep in but at the same time I’m also coming to a sense of peace and acceptance that it’s okay for leaving. It’s okay to follow the pull for something new. It’s okay to want more and to want to live somewhere that just feels more “me”. 

And so as I’ve been reflecting on this, it’s also made me think of that saying “you take yourself wherever you go”. The idea that unless you do the inner work, a change in environment may not make a huge difference, you’ll just carry your struggles and patterns with you. And of course I agree with this, on reflection each of my big moves was preceded by some form of inner work that helped me unpack the guilt, the pressure and the old beliefs that told me I had to stay. 

But I’ve also learned that a new environment can be deeply healing too. Each move, whether within Australia or overseas, brought another layer of healing and transformation that complemented the inner work. It’s almost as if the inner work created the readiness, but the outer shift gave me space to grow even further. Each step forward in one created movement in the other.

And so this feels like a reminder that both your inner and outer world matter. Both hold power and both deserve your attention. 

So what is actually meant by the phrase inner world and outer world?

I like to see that your inner world is essentially your beliefs, your emotions, your self-talk, your subconscious, your nervous system. It’s the stories you carry, the patterns you repeat, the values you hold, your thoughts, experiences and perceptions that are uniquely yours. And so when this world is cluttered with guilt, fear or old stories, even the most beautiful external environment can feel off. You might have everything you thought you wanted, but still feel stuck, unfulfilled and disconnected.

This is where inner work comes in. Through practices like Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT), you begin to clear what no longer serves you. You reconnect to who you are beneath the conditioning. You start to feel more at home within yourself, no matter where you are.

Your outer world however is the people, spaces and rhythms you’re surrounded by. It’s the energy of your home, the environment you wake up in, the way your day flows and how your surroundings make you feel. Sometimes, even when the inner work is in motion, staying in the wrong environment can slow your growth, reinforce old patterns, keep you small or drain your energy.

And so I’ve found an outer change can be a bit of wake up call, it provides the feeling of a fresh start and creates momentum and change. A new location, a fresh space or a lifestyle shift can act as a catalyst, pulling you out of a rut and helping you embody the version of you that you’ve been working so hard to become. And of course you don’t always need to uproot your whole life. Even small shifts, like creating a sanctuary in your home or changing your routine, can ripple out into something much bigger.

Ultimately both your inner and outer world matter. Both have power and true transformation happens when your inner and outer world are in conversation. The inner healing creates the clarity and courage to make outer changes. Your outer shifts create the space and energy for your inner growth to flourish.

When one is neglected, you can feel stuck, perhaps doing all the inner work but still living in an environment that weighs you down or otherwise having everything externally but still carrying the same old fears and patterns inside. 

It’s not about choosing one over the other. It’s about alignment. Because when your inner world is rooted in truth and your outer world reflects who you are, that’s where life starts to feel like home.

So a gentle reminder for you to reflect on your inner and outer world. Does either feel out of balance? Does where you live truly feel like home? Are you there by circumstance? Or by choice? Do you feel at home within yourself? If you could live anywhere, would you be living where you are now? 

I think for once in my life, the answers to those last two questions would be yes. 

What about you?

And remember if you are interested in finding harmony within your inner world through RTT, I’d love to hear from you. You can find out more and book at www.alignwithalice.com.