Finding Home From Wherever You Are

Posted on Posted in Personal Power

by Liz Jansen

find your way homeOn a lazy Sunday afternoon in 1998, I lay on the sofa looking up at the massive beams holding up the structure I’d waited so long for and worked so hard to finish. Did I really think this house on this particular plot of land was the only place on God’s earth where I could be happy? Of course not! That epiphany severed my attachment to the house and fed my restlessness, but it would be another two years before I left it, along with my marriage.

Since then I’ve lived in five places, none as grand as that house, but all of them more like home. Home, I’ve discovered, is more of a state of being than a physical place.

It means you can find home wherever you are. When I camp, it’s my small tent. Although tissue paper-thin, the walls separate me from the elements and other people, and the space becomes my own. At my yoga studio, it’s my mat. While staying with friends, it’s wherever I lay my head. In fact, I hesitate to call anywhere home, choosing instead to refer to my street address as home base.

Home is that place of stillness that radiates feelings of peace, serenity, and security in the midst of chaos. It arises from the awareness and acceptance of who you are. This welcoming place breeds self-assuredness, comfort, and contentment with one’s self, foibles and all.

From that calm center, it’s easier to stay grounded, keep life in perspective, and make wise choices. Whenever I get lost, I trust my heart to guide me home.

Yet there’s still something to be said for a physical place. Recently I spent more than five weeks on the road. With mixed feelings, embracing the chilly ride while accepting the season was drawing to a close, the cold of the final two days challenged me physically. When I opened the door to my cozy little place, felt the rush of warm air against my face, and sensed the familiar setting, I exhaled a big sigh of gratitude. Welcome home.

How do you find your way home? Where is home? Tell us in the comments.

Related post: Finding Calm When Quitting is Not an Option

Photo credit: anoldent on Visual hunt / CC BY-SA

About

Author, writer, and student Liz Jansen combines her artistic mediums to create stories that inspire readers to embark on their own journey of self-discovery.

8 Comments on “Finding Home From Wherever You Are”

  1. A beautiful writing, Liz! You have given me much reflect on this morning. Home! It has always been said, “Home is where the heart is.” So it makes sense that to discover where your heart resides will lead you home.

  2. Home is where my cats are. Sounds trite, but you know that telling question: What would you save from your house (from a fire) if you could only save one thing? My cats.They keep me honest. When I wake up in the morning Ayla is looking right at me. Those green eyes, coming right out of a dream, is how I know I’m home. (I haven’t mentioned my wife, but if the house was burning she would already be outside, safe. This is about my cat connection.)

  3. In my younger day, I loved camping, in a tent, on the ground. My favourite time was when there was a ferocious storm outside and the thin flimsy walls of the tent were all that protected me. It was the closest I could get to the fury of the storm, and yet still be safe, although precariously.
    Thanks for a great artical