Hello friend,
Where do you live? Is the answer the same as, “Where is home?”
Sitting in airports and on planes, I’ve often asked, Where are you going?” Some travel for work and vacations, and a common response I heard was, “I’m going home to visit parent, daughter, family . . .”
Next week is Thanksgiving Day in the USA, and the news has reported record travel on the roadways and in the air. Where is everyone going? What is home, and how do we define it in an age of high mobility?
I can count where I have lived since birth—eight homes within a 100-mile radius. The last two span 48 years.
What is home? It could be:
One’s place of residence, or
The social unit formed by a family living together or
A familiar or usual setting: congenial environment or
A place of origin, or
None of these.
We all may travel or swell in any of those places, but those destinations may still not answer the question. Some say, “Home is where the heart is.”
Glinda the Good from the screenplay of “Wiz” may have said it best:
“Home is a place we all must find, child. It’s not just a place where you eat or sleep. Home is knowing. Knowing your mind, knowing your heart, knowing your courage. If we know ourselves, we’re always home, anywhere.”
A poem for wherever home might be or where you sit around the table.
Pico Iyer considers the meaning of home.
Miranda Lambert reflects on The House That Built Me; Simon and Garfunkel are Homeward Bound; Michael Bublé longs to go Home; and a bonus, Elvis croons Home Is Where the Heart Is.
The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
— Maya Angelou
With gratitude . . .
I began this weekly post to offer my thoughts and stories, to create positivity amid the angry noise that permeates the space around us. Now and then, I second guess the name I chose, but when I ask myself, "What do I write about and why?” I have the same answer.
I focus on stories that uplift, cause us to think, or ask a question. I write to inspire hope.
I am grateful for each of you. Thank you.
Kathryn
If you would like to read more from me, visit my website. I’ll be there waiting for you.
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To realise that "home is where the heart is" doesn't mean that home is connected to a romantic relationship but it is a place inside me, the home, the Love that I am, was the biggest game changer in my life a few years ago. Especially after moving countries I can say, I carry home within me and I still haven't explored all the beautiful corners and rooms. It's a lifelong romance 🤩 Thanks for uplifting and oh my god this picture is my dream house 😍
The simplest (possibly over-simplified) quote I've come across: 'Home is where your heart is.' Works for me, after 25+ homes!!!