Yes, Home is where your heart is!
Earl J. Prignitz
March 06, 2007
A home is a place where a person or a family lives, perhaps spends much of their time, or where a person is comfortable being. While a house (or other residential dwelling) is often referred to as a home, the concept of "home" is broader than a physical dwelling. Home is often a place of refuge and safety, where worldly cares fade and the things and people that one loves becomes the focus. Many people think of home in terms of where they grew up, or a time rather than a place.
I have lived in 22 different houses in my lifetime and they have all been my home. They have been located in 5 different states, all within the United States of America. Most of them located in the Midwestern part of the country. The one exception being Florida where we spent nine winters in Ft. Myers.
I feel that I have been extremely blessed in that my parents were devout Christians who walked the talk. They were devoted to each other and to me and my younger sister. They were active members of the Friends Church in Buffalo, Iowa where we attended whenever the doors were opened. How could I have ever had a better start in life?
Then my first wife and I had three remarkable daughters. And I give my wife all the credit for how they turned out. She was a terrific mother. Our home life was always one of togetherness. We did things as a family consistently.
After my wife’s unexpected death in 1996 I was extremely fortunate to find another wonderful Christian woman to share my ending years with. Unfortunately, just a little over 3 months after our marriage I had to have emergency surgery followed a week later by two strokes. We managed to live in her apartment in Goshen, IN part time and mine in Dublin, IN for 9 months.
We have lived in a retirement community now for the past 8 years. It has become our home and we are very happy here. So I assume home can be almost anywhere if one accepts the notion that he can be happy in that location. It has been said, “Home is where the heart is.” I like that idea.
Can you see why the word “home” has special meaning to me?
I admit that the word “home” has a wide variety of connotations. To some, home is merely a place where basic needs are addressed. To others, home is the foundation from which they draw their strength and tranquility. Still, others view home as a place inexorably linked to family. Yet all these definitions of home imply somewhere we can be ourselves and are totally accepted. There, we feel safe enough to let down our guard, peaceful enough to really relax, and loved enough to want to return day after day. However, these qualities need not be linked to a single space or any space at all. Home is where the heart is and can be the locale you live in, a community you once lived in, or the country where you plan to live someday. Or home can be a feeling you carry inside yourself, wherever you are.
Some persons are forced to move because of changing circumstances, a job change or a change in relationships, and then never come to grips with the alteration. Hence they never quite feel at home in their new surroundings. That is so sad!
Your home can be any space or state of being that fulfills you, provided you are at peace with yourself and your surroundings. A person can feel like home to you, as can seasons and activities. If you feel disconnected from what you once thought of as home, your detachment may be a signal that you are ready to move on. Simply put, you will know you have found your home when both your physical environment and energetic surroundings are in harmony with the individual you are within.
I have lived in 22 different houses in my lifetime and they have all been my home. They have been located in 5 different states, all within the United States of America. Most of them located in the Midwestern part of the country. The one exception being Florida where we spent nine winters in Ft. Myers.
I feel that I have been extremely blessed in that my parents were devout Christians who walked the talk. They were devoted to each other and to me and my younger sister. They were active members of the Friends Church in Buffalo, Iowa where we attended whenever the doors were opened. How could I have ever had a better start in life?
Then my first wife and I had three remarkable daughters. And I give my wife all the credit for how they turned out. She was a terrific mother. Our home life was always one of togetherness. We did things as a family consistently.
After my wife’s unexpected death in 1996 I was extremely fortunate to find another wonderful Christian woman to share my ending years with. Unfortunately, just a little over 3 months after our marriage I had to have emergency surgery followed a week later by two strokes. We managed to live in her apartment in Goshen, IN part time and mine in Dublin, IN for 9 months.
We have lived in a retirement community now for the past 8 years. It has become our home and we are very happy here. So I assume home can be almost anywhere if one accepts the notion that he can be happy in that location. It has been said, “Home is where the heart is.” I like that idea.
Can you see why the word “home” has special meaning to me?
I admit that the word “home” has a wide variety of connotations. To some, home is merely a place where basic needs are addressed. To others, home is the foundation from which they draw their strength and tranquility. Still, others view home as a place inexorably linked to family. Yet all these definitions of home imply somewhere we can be ourselves and are totally accepted. There, we feel safe enough to let down our guard, peaceful enough to really relax, and loved enough to want to return day after day. However, these qualities need not be linked to a single space or any space at all. Home is where the heart is and can be the locale you live in, a community you once lived in, or the country where you plan to live someday. Or home can be a feeling you carry inside yourself, wherever you are.
Some persons are forced to move because of changing circumstances, a job change or a change in relationships, and then never come to grips with the alteration. Hence they never quite feel at home in their new surroundings. That is so sad!
Your home can be any space or state of being that fulfills you, provided you are at peace with yourself and your surroundings. A person can feel like home to you, as can seasons and activities. If you feel disconnected from what you once thought of as home, your detachment may be a signal that you are ready to move on. Simply put, you will know you have found your home when both your physical environment and energetic surroundings are in harmony with the individual you are within.
Print
Email
