Family. A word that still evokes all kinds of emotions inside of me. Good and bad ones. You know what I mean. While the idea behind is simple, the reality is so much more difficult.

You might see a picture like the one above and think my life is perfect. A perfect little family. Happiness. Beauty. Laughter. And you might be tempted to compare your own life to my picture book and feel as if you have missed out on anything.

Let me tell you. You did not. Yes, this picture is true. We are a happy family. But what does this mean? It comes with all the “up and downs” of ‚normal life. With moments of doubt. With tears. With fights. And with love.

I had to learn that for myself. That this is what family is. There is no such thing like the perfect fit and no ‚happy ever after‘ if you are not prepared to ‚do the work‘.

What does this mean?

For me that means to never stop learning, communicating, reflecting, confronting, forgiving, healing … yourself and the other.

Family (just as relationship & partnership in general) can become our deepest spiritual practice if we allow it, the hardest lesson for our egos  and the most profound opening for our hearts. Family is the place where we can experience each other in our full humanity, our shadows and our light. And I believe this is actually what is so beautiful about it. It‘s a place of personal growth for me. And truly this was a decision that I took and take again and again, day by day.

For a long time I believed that family stood in the way of my awakening, now I know that it IS the way.