We are in full bloom of Summer. Some of us are approaching final trips before school is back in action, and the question of "Where and what do I consider home?" arose.
I just spent a few weeks where I was born and lived for my first 24 years. It is always a place of contentment and peace. A place where I am cared for and being with family. A place of ease. Then there's the place where I live, work, and spend my daily life.
Now, where is my home? Is it where my mom and brother are? Or is it where I am with my spouse and son? As I reflect on this question and my own spaces of home. I recognized that it doesn't have to be connected to people and a physical place.
The other day, I was asked if I ever felt homesick being away from my family. Did I ever miss Switzerland? I can't remember a day that I ever felt homesick. Does that make me unconsidered, emotionless, disconnected? If you know me, then those adjectives don't describe me. I always enjoy returning to Switzerland, being awed by nature, and spending quality time with family. Even being there for more extended periods doesn't make me miss New York. I love coming back and being amazed here and enjoying the things I don't have while I am away.
I further reflected and noticed that I managed a way to make where I am my home. Over my life, I always considered my home to be where I am. It didn't matter if I was in Switzerland, on vacation, or away for a year.
What do you consider your home and why? Maybe for you, it is connected to a physical place and the people you are with. Maybe it is a moving space, depending on where you are, whom you're with, and what you do. Maybe you have experienced feeling homesick. Either experience works; there isn't a right or a wrong. It might just be a thought of awareness on how we relate to our home.
Exploring these different perspectives led me to another thought: no matter what we do in life. How we relate to ourselves is crucial. If everything we do is connected to our outside world, it may seem impossible to be independent of our internal experience. Everything we do depends on our surroundings, which could give us a sense of limitation.
What made it possible to create a home within me? The answer brings me back to myself and how I relate to myself and the environment I am in. In most experiences, I am independent of my surroundings. Where I am and what I do is about something other than the external parts. It's about an internal experience. It is an experience of peace and contentment within myself, finding ways to stay deeply considered, emotional, and connected with where I am and seeing each moment as fleeting. Our lives are not fixated. We are constantly moving, evolving, and changing, and we are highly adaptable if we let it.
During the exploration of "Where and what do I consider home?"I acknowledge that we humans are nature. Wherever we go is nature; therefore, wherever we go is home. This way, it becomes easier to move through life and define home. Ultimately, I've realized that my true home is within me - within my body and sense of self. This inner home travels with me wherever I go. My home is my body.
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