My sister and I have the occasional conversation about "home." Most of the time we're just catching up, sharing some funny stories, asking about mutual friends. Then this topic of "home" surfaces. I'm not sure why it winds its way into our time together. Or how for the matter. It simply does.
Does that ever happen with you? Can you trace its path? Weird, huh?
Here's a sample of the statements and questions Amy and I frequently share. "I miss home. I am going home this weekend. When are you coming home? Man, things here are just not like home! I wish I could just go home and forget all about it." Do these ring a bell with you?
Over the past few days, I've been thinking a lot about this topic. "Home" is such a powerful place. It's almost like a force to be reckoned with. Right? So, it's imperative that we begin to define what we exactly mean when using the word... home. Here's a question for you. What is home? Who is home? Where is home?
Great questions. We'll come back to them.
As I was thinking about home and its meaning, I remembered a quote that I saw at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. If you're visiting Ireland and have the chance to take this tour, please do so. It's quite incredible. Anyway, a huge quote lined one of the massive walls and burned an imagine into my memory. "Home is not where you live, but where they understand you." Hmm...
Yesterday, I received a email from a good friend. Inside was a conversation with his wife about the meaning of... home. I couldn't believe it! How's that for timing, eh? Anyway, I wanted to share with all of you a sample of what was said. Enjoy!
"And yet, maybe home in not really about geography or air quality, or moonlight, or being in the city or out of the city, or in a red state or blue state, or in a music town or a working class town. Maybe home has more to do with the work we've all done as individuals to increasingly become people we can live with. Maybe home is the desire to live soulfully, the tiny ongoing decisions we make that allow the soul room to breathe."
A few interesting descriptions of this place called home. And yet, I wonder what you think of home. What is it exactly? Who is included? Where does it exist? I'd love your help! Talk to me.
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- Bo
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- a seeker. one fascinated with mystery and intrigue. a lover. one ruined by beauty and grace. a friend. one trusted with honesty and forgiveness. a son. one honored by family and significance. a dreamer. one haunted by community and sacrifice. a eucharist. one compelled by trinity and action. a fool. one discovered by frailty and weakness. a reader. so write...
10 comments:
Great post. Did I miss a call this morning?
-russ
Thanks bud!
Yes, you did. I called your home away from home... the cell! It went straight to voice mail so I thought I'd just try again later.
- yet, I wonder what you think of home.
Home, for me, is with Lydia, my wife.
- What is it exactly?
It's not a "place" as much as it is a state. It's where I can be me. It's where I'm free from inhibition and expectation. I'm just me.
Who is included?
- First and foremost, Lydia. Then my family and closest friends, but I'm learning to welcome others into my "space" as well.
Where does it exist?
- Personally, it's wherever and whenever I'm with the ones I love. Although, North Georgia is where a lot of my family lives, it's not home because they park their cars there, but because they ARE there.
Russ, great stuff!
I loved this angle... "It's where I can be me. It's where I'm free from inhibition and expectation."
Maybe that's it. Maybe home is where I can be me and people love that person... no one else! Hmmm...
Thanks for discussing such an important topic. There's nothing like driving around Waycross. It's so wonderfully familiar. I went to the stadium last night to buy a football program to see what my former students were up to. The first group I taught is now in the 12th grade. Anyway, the stadium was just the same and brought back so many good memories.
Amy B!
Familiar places = home! I like that too!
Good memories are a product of home in some way. Don't you think?
Great comment. Thanks!
Home is where your heart is...family, friends,freedom to be yourself. After being away for 5 years...Sam and I love being home.
PS
Home to me is the place where one feels comfortable, at peace, loved and honored. I guess that is why I still call going to mom's home, home.
The girls look at me funny, but I just cannot stop saying that is home. I have lived away from it more than I lived in it, but will always be home........the place where I lived with my sisters, had great grade school to high school friends, made big plans for the future sitting in an apple tree with friends and had no fears.......that is why I still call that place home......peace, love and comfort...
Flyer
PS, likewise. I love coming home!
Flyer, thanks bro!
You've perfectly described a place that is full of promise, a place where dreams are born, a place where fear is absent. Many, many thanks my dear friend.
"That is why I still call that place home... peace, love and comfort."
Perfectly said. Who doesn't long for a "place" like this? A home like this?
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