Home is such a broad term that can never be assigned to one specific place. It’s one that many philosophers have spent years debating, and that we all have our own inner conflict with. Home is a wonderful place, that is scarcely found at an early stage in life, and which some never actually do find. Here are a few signs that you’ve found yours:
1- You don’t feel the need to escape
For some reason or the other, if you’re not home, you’ll have the urge to leave where you are and go looking for another place. As human beings, I don’t think we’re capable of settling somewhere without truly finding our comfort. “Home is where all your attempts to escape cease.” Naguib Mahfouz can never be wrong.
2- After a long day, you’re happy to return there
You look forward to going home and spending time there. You’re happy that at the end of the day, when everyone’s leaving, you’ll be going there and you won’t feel lonely.
3- You’re surrounded by people you truly love
If you’ve found someone or a few people you truly love, and whose company you cherish, then you’re home. It can be a spouse, parents, siblings or best friends. It doesn’t matter, as long as you’re satisfied spending the rest of your time with them. That person can be yourself, too.
4- You feel content
That’s a feeling we don’t all have the luxury to experience. I wouldn’t say it’s consistent, because as human beings, we always have our ups and downs. But when you actually feel genuinely content and satisfied with where you are, then you’ve found home. It’s the opposite of feeling empty, like a part of you is missing. It’s feeling complete. I guess that’s happiness, right?
5- Home isn’t necessarily a place
Home is definitely not just a place; it can be a person. It doesn’t have to be tangible; it can be invisible. Yet, it can feel more of a safe haven than any house has ever felt. One of my favorite quotes is: “It is only with the heart, that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye” (The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
6- It doesn’t have to be in one place
Home is such a flexible term. What’s a little scary is that “home” can be scattered all over the world. You can be in Egypt, and have your heart somewhere else. Or you can be in the US, and have your heart forever embedded in Egypt. And sometimes, home isn’t just one place. It’s a multiple of places, memories or feelings that you’ve seen, experienced and can never let go of. As much as it can hurt because you can’t be everywhere at once, I guess that’s also the beauty of it.
“No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.” (The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, L. Frank Baum)
