Writing and Reading "Real Estate Therapy"

Reading time: 2 minutes

"To survive, you must tell stories."
-Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before

There was a time about 15 years ago when I fell out of love with my job as a Realtor.

I’d enjoyed substantial success, yet the exciting game of negotiating and winning for clients had ceased to be enough. I kept asking myself, “Is there any meaning to helping people buy and sell houses?”

And if I’d had a bumper sticker on my car it would have said, “I’d rather be writing.”

Dropping my day job to pursue the writing life was out of the question. I was still raising children and paying private-school tuition (with college for my two sons looming on the horizon). Then came the 2008 economic meltdown and its fallout in my personal and professional life.

That’s when it occurred to me that just because I had to work for a living didn’t mean I couldn’t write. And couldn’t that writing include some exploration of what real estate meant to me?

That was the genesis of RealEstateTherapy.org. Emphasis on “Therapy” as in therapy for myself. All that writing about real estate reconnected me to the deeper meaning of what I do for a living, and it allowed me to develop and articulate my philosophy about the concept of HOME.

My blog has a healthy following now. I hear often from friends and clients about something that resonated for them. I also receive feedback from total strangers who find the blog inspiring.

Here are snippets from two recent letters sent by readers.

“Thank you, so much, for how your work affirms ideas I have considered, including the importance of sanctuary with regard to home and how you incorporate mindfulness into your different areas of work and writing circles.” ~ Erikka

“…I instantly fell in love with not only the name of your site, but the incredibly humorous and heartfelt content you create. I was touched by your natural capacity to write about the emotional and psychological aspects of buying and selling homes and the bigger meaning it embodies... Thank you for shining a warm spotlight on the currents of love, connection and belonging that run through this profession.” ~ Rachael

I’m deeply touched that people read Real Estate Therapy and that it has made /can make a difference in others’ lives. I’m grateful, grateful, grateful!

Photo Credit: Patrick Tomasso

Author and RealEstateTherapy curator Cynthia Cummins has been devoted to homeowners and homebuyers for three decades and counting. Visit KindredSFhomes.com for more information on San Francisco real estate.