Jonathan Safran Foer writes, “The strangest thing to reencounter was the home where I lived for the first nine years of life….I was sure I’d have strong feelings revisiting it for the first time in decades, but it was merely interesting, and I was happy enough to leave after ten minutes….Maybe home, in the end, is just a place.”
My co-worker remarked that she went “home” for Thanksgiving, traveling to the east coast for a much-needed vacation. However, upon her return she realized that her childhood house no longer connotated the feeling of home. Rather, she felt much more comfort in her CA apartment, with the community she has cultivated in just over two years.
So…where is home?
Home is where we feel safe and open to share. Home is where we create memories and experience an ease of spirit. Some say that our home is our sanctuary, a place of peace and calm.
With three young, loud kids, my home feels nothing like a sanctuary. Peace and calm are words that are far away from my vocabulary. But truth be told, I look around and see family that expects my presence, allows me to be heard, and offers unconditional love. It is a space that nurtures my spirit and warms my soul. Home is where I am unafraid to be myself.
Mishlei reminds us, “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” We see our rooms filled with treasures, for we understand, to feel at home is to experience the most sacred of blessings.
Jonathan Safran Foer may believe that home is just a place. I believe home is the place where our soul climbs higher and higher.
Dorothy said it best. There’s no place like home.
Shabbat Shalom
