I was walking down the long 8th floor corridor from the elevator to the condo unit I had called home for 25 years. It was April of 2025. The hallway was a neutral color, nothing but numbers distinguishing one door from another. “I am alone and surrounded by strangers!” I thought. I realized I really knew almost no one in my building, and no one really knew me very well. I entered my condo, a familiar place, filled with too many things and not enough light. Outside was congestion, concrete and cars.

Suddenly, a knowledge that had been brewing just below conscious awareness came into perfectly clear focus. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life here! I am ready for, hungry for, major changes in my life.” This was the push that broke my inertia. It was time to let go and make space for a fresh vision.

Perhaps you have had moments like this, when you knew it was time to leave the familiar behind, and change was in the air? Such transitional moments may stir many emotions. For me, there was excitement and grief, curiosity and optimism, anxiety and great relief.

Now came the next big question. If not this, then what? If not here, then where? I knew that I was attracted to the idea of community, though I had little real sense of what life lived in a community of meaning and caring might really be like. I knew that I wanted to be much more present to the natural world. I knew that I wanted more simplicity and serenity. And I knew that it was time to act. A dear friend told me about Friends House. Doors began to open, sometimes literally. To my amazement, within a few weeks my friend and I were shown an available unit that was beautiful, full of light and a great fit for my needs. I signed the contract and set the moving day for July 2025. I wanted to bring with me only things that I loved or actually needed, so I left behind more than half of my condo’s contents, feeling no regrets, only great relief.

I underestimated the extent of change that awaited me. The reality of life in community, the proximity to nature and the opportunity to try new experiences went far beyond anything I had imagined. I discovered that I could make new friends far more easily than I had thought possible. I started more new friendships in my first month at Friends House than I had in the previous 25 years. The welcoming kindness and shared values have been profoundly life changing.

I am home, and I am very grateful.