Release. Receive. Return.
A pattern hidden in plain sight.
On my first night home from freshman year of college, I sat on my bed and cried.
It wasn’t expected. I hadn’t been sad or missing my home or my parents. I was doing fine in school. Things were on track. And yet, the tears flowed.
As I looked around my childhood bedroom, I didn’t see myself anymore. Those stuffed animals felt childish; the posters outdated. Even the framed photos of me with friends and family at parties and celebrations looked like someone else’s life lived long ago.
This room, this life, just wasn’t mine anymore.
I’ll never forget that moment as a turning point. It’s the moment I let go of attachments to the comfort of my youth, and opened up to the life I was creating. I was living away from home, pursuing my dreams, meeting new people, and having new experiences. Nothing was as cookie-cutter as my suburban upbringing had been. It was eye-opening to say the least.
Those college years taught me so much. I learned how to let go of my ego and accept constructive criticism. I experienced the deep pain of losing love. I learned I loved travel, sundried tomatoes, and margaritas. I lived through rejection, acceptance, ridicule, and respect—sometimes from others, sometimes from myself.
I would say that I found my center in college. I discovered what makes me tick, what’s important to me, and what I wanted to do next with my life.
And so when, after graduation, I decided to move to New York City and really have a go at the dance career I had been training for, I was ready.
I brought with me the courage to try new things without fear of rejection or failure. I had self-love and independence to support me, and subway maps to guide my routes. There wasn’t much in the way of margaritas (the way a Texas girl would want), but I made friends with red wine and blue cheese.
Visits home were no longer fraught. I had a newly established sense of self that included my childhood and teenage years, along with the lessons I’d gathered along the way.
This is a story you might recognize in yourself. It’s a pattern we all go through many times in our lives. I didn’t have language for it then. But now I do. It’s the pattern we worked with recently on our Community Labyrinth Walk in Butler Park:
Release.
Receive.
Return.
These cycles are as familiar as our breath. And like our breath, we rarely pause to notice them.
Perhaps this week you might also think of a time in your life you had to let go of something: a job, a relationship, a city, a home, a habit, an addiction. And through that letting go, what did you receive? What wisdom did you gain, or insights did you acquire? How did life open up for you when you were willing to let go and take it in?
The return–in the labyrinth, in life, and in the archetype of the Hero’s Journey–is about bringing with you everything you received while on your adventure. It may be a literal return to home, but often it’s what you bring with you to the next phase. The return is when we truly take in what we received from our journey.
So what is this day presenting to you? Are you in a season of letting go? Is this the time to be quiet and receive what Life is trying to tell you? Or are you moving forward these days, returning life in full form, armed with the wisdom and knowledge of a journey recently traveled?
Regardless of where you are in the journey now, know that this pattern continues in spirals throughout your life.
Just like the moon.
Just like the seasons.
Just like your breath.
As you recognize these phases, may you find joy in accepting exactly where you are right now, and that where you are right now is just exactly right.
Much love,
Jessica
An Invitation for You:
Hidden Things: Pilgrimage to Chartes Cathedral
A sacred journey of yoga, labyrinth, and revelation.
October 3-10, 2026
Join Jessica and others on a sacred journey of yoga, labyrinth, and revelation. Towering over the medieval town of Chartes, France, this iconic, historic, and architectural marvel invites pilgrims from all over the world to explore the interior cathedral of one's own heart. This profound and thoughtfully curated experience will take you on a journey through Chartres, Paris, and into your own soul, seeking and finding the hidden treasures of purpose, inspiration, and divine connection.
An Offering for You:
Pilgrimage to the Heart: Yoga and Labyrinth
This mini-workshop is a gentle, guided journey inward as we combine the meditative practice of labyrinth tracing, or handheld labyrinth, with breath-centered yoga and stillness. Labyrinth work is an ancient practice born of walking a pilgrimage. And now from the comfort of your own space, you’ll explore the embodied presence and the quiet wisdom that arises when you slow down and listen. Bring your sense of adventure and curiosity!
In Case You Missed It:
Pilgrimage and the Labyrinth: An Outer Journey with an Inner Purpose
A Conversation with Jill Geoffrion
What happens when we listen to a call we don’t fully understand?
In this first interview episode of Room to Evolve, Jessica Goulding sits down with Jill Geoffrion, one of the world’s leading voices on labyrinth prayer, pilgrimage, and Chartres Cathedral. Together, they explore pilgrimage not as tourism, but as transformation—an outer journey with an inner purpose.
Love it!