Postcard 052 - Gracious Innkeepers
I’m traveling this week, as I imagine many of you are.
When I travel, at least solo, I tend to prefer the consistency and security that comes with staying a hotel. New York City tends to be an exception.
It’s not because the average hotel room is quite small or the reasonably-sized hotel rooms are quite expensive (though both of those things are true). New York City is an exception because I have a set of friends who regularly invite me to stay with them when I am in town.
Upon arriving last night, I thanked my hosts for being such gracious friends and innkeepers. While that may be a strange thing to call someone you know, I mean it as one of the highest compliments.
Lena, a brilliant friend and intellectual sparring partner, wrote about innkeepers, saying:
An Innkeeper facilitates environments that offer travelers a warm and safe space to rest and recharge. Nourishment for a tired body and connection for the weary mind. Yes, they make sure there is food and drink, they offer tools, resources and guidance for the journey, they listen to and learn from the shared stories. But specifically, in hosting travelers from all walks of life, they are intentional about the little (big) moments that facilitate connection.
I love to host and I see hosting as a deeply personal and vulnerable gift. In hosting others, you’re dropping the masks and safeguards that you carry in the external world and invite others into your mess. You’re not just exposing them to a curated meal or evening, but making visible the thousands of peculiarities and preferences you have that have influenced what is in your space and how it feels.
To host someone in the way that an innkeeper does — to provide refuge for not just an evening but a night (or multiple) is no small act. And to be hosted in that way is something to be treasured.
So as we go into a week that is often focused on gratitude, I’m feeling particularly thankful for the innkeepers in my life, both in New York City and outside of it. The people who have regularly provided me with refuge, especially in times where I didn’t know that I needed it.
You know who you are. <3