Daily Question, November 24 What are some of the places I have called home, and truly felt at home? 28 Reflections Share Click here to cancel reply.Please log in or Create a Profile to post a comment. Notify me when someone replies to my comment via e-mail. Erich6176 years agoErich617My parents still live in the house where I grew up. This has its comforts, though they are largely superficial. In the decades that my parents have owned the property, it has increased in value tremendously, and I know that--if worse ever comes to worse--I have a safe haven to which I can return for shelter. But I don't know that I have felt at home there in many years, if I ever did. I remember knowing as a teenager--and even as a child--that I belonged in a city. I rarely connected with the... My parents still live in the house where I grew up. This has its comforts, though they are largely superficial. In the decades that my parents have owned the property, it has increased in value tremendously, and I know that–if worse ever comes to worse–I have a safe haven to which I can return for shelter. But I don’t know that I have felt at home there in many years, if I ever did. I remember knowing as a teenager–and even as a child–that I belonged in a city. I rarely connected with the people around me in my hometown, and I always had the feeling that a place for me existed somewhere, just not there. I have lived in London, New York City, and–for almost a decade now–Los Angeles. I have always felt at home in the city. I love the sense of endless exploration available to me. I came to Los Angeles for work and, at the time, would probably have gone wherever I could expect to find work. But I have come to love this place–its culture, its beauty, its people, and its vibrance. Earlier this year, I decided to purchase a house. In order to find something in my price range, I needed to move to an area in Los Angeles that is developed as a suburb. It is further from the ocean, which I love possibly more than anything, and hotter. I cannot find a community or any cultural center, just row after row of isolated houses. Most importantly, when I step out of my door, I do not feel like I am stepping into an exciting world, free to explore. Yesterday, I made some time to return to the city, ostensibly looking to buy a bed. The sky was overcast, and the air was chilly. I went from one secondhand store to another, rubbing elbows with collectors scouting vintage finds and working class parents buying their children winter jackets. I saw furniture, clothing, and books that were once a part of other people’s lives. I am really struggling with place right now. I feel tethered to this house in which I’ve invested, worried that–as global warming increases–it will become uninhabitable. I know that I will need to address the distance between me and my parents and do not know what the solution to that will be. I have been laid off from work twice since 2015 and am just settling into a new job, now worried that I will need to relocate and find something new all over again. But yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I felt at home, wandering the streets with no shelter at all. Read More0 Reply Patito6 years agoPatitoLa casa de mi madre, mi casa, el DF 0 Reply Sylvie6 years agoSylvieFirst of all comes to my mind the small village of my childhood in the Black Forrest. I knew everybody there and it really felt at home. Then my spiritual home has been for 40 years Taize in France, Where everybody is welcome and a Deep faith is bring practiced in stillness and contemplation. Zürich is my third home, such a beautiful town with people from around the world, the mountains and the lake... This question makes me deeply grateful for all the possibilities I have had in my life to c... First of all comes to my mind the small village of my childhood in the Black Forrest. I knew everybody there and it really felt at home. Then my spiritual home has been for 40 years Taize in France, Where everybody is welcome and a Deep faith is bring practiced in stillness and contemplation. Zürich is my third home, such a beautiful town with people from around the world, the mountains and the lake… This question makes me deeply grateful for all the possibilities I have had in my life to connect to people, myself, animals, faith and this beautiful place here. Read More4 Reply Anna6 years agoAnnaBeautiful places indeed, Sylvie! 0 Reply Sylvie6 years agoSylvieGracie, Anna ! 0 Reply Doreen Nixon6 years agoDoreen NixonI have lived many places but none of them were ever home. Where I am now is what I call home…but it is not until I cross over that I can say that I will be truly Home! 3 Reply Palm6 years agoPalmAhh this is a question that has kept me thinking…. Thank you for all the beautiful reflections. I thought of Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, he says part of caring for the soul is to be in that place of the world you feel at home. I’ve had so many addresses, and I am grateful I have never been homeless. Everywhere has been a home somehow, my family of origin are far away, and when I visit I feel I am back home. At my own place, I feel free, and that’s home too. 5 Reply Grace6 years agoGraceLiving where I am, I have access to beautiful white, squeaky sand beaches. It here, walking along the beach with the waves rhythmically breaking and pounding that I feel at home. Something calls me to where I belong, my heart settles, my breathing becomes easier … slower … and everything falls into place. Somehow I enter where I began, where I am, and where I one day will be, all at the same time. Yes, I am truly home. 4 Reply Hot Sauce6 years agoHot SauceMy home in Colorado, my home in Platteville, my dorm at Doane University, and Doane itself are truly places that have been home and have felt like home to me. 2 Reply Malag6 years agoMalagSomething about the question brought to mind a friends house I used to go to when I was in my teens. The mother of the house was very mothering to me and it was a time in my life I really appreciated it. There was a deep connection as I think there is anywhere we feel at home. 2 Reply Ose6 years agoOseWhenever I had the joy to sit in stillness near the fireplace together with my chosen mother. She now is 85 years of age. What is essential to feel home? I would like to describe it with her words. A while ago she said, that to be in contact with what is essential, it wouldn´t need religion and it wouldn´t need a teacher. To her, to be in contact with the essential requires to submit oneself to the light in stillness, the light which is in every cell and everything, which is. It would be an in... Whenever I had the joy to sit in stillness near the fireplace together with my chosen mother. She now is 85 years of age. What is essential to feel home? I would like to describe it with her words. A while ago she said, that to be in contact with what is essential, it wouldn´t need religion and it wouldn´t need a teacher. To her, to be in contact with the essential requires to submit oneself to the light in stillness, the light which is in every cell and everything, which is. It would be an inner process, and it would be the gift of age and of life in stillness which allows to turn fully to the essential. And that she would feel gifted and deeply grateful for having this possibility now. I was so touched by her words, while her face was shimmering like silver moonlight. I feel deeply grateful to have had the gift of sharing these moments with her. Read More6 Reply Antoinette6 years agoAntoinetteOse, What a wise woman. Reflecting deeply within and not searching outside for a something that the ego thought was lost. Beautiful and wise. Thank you for sharing Ose. 1 Reply M6 years agoMGrateful to call Ponte Vedra Beach my home – grateful for my childhood home surrounded by family and friends with lots of love in Cincinnati, Ohio 1 Reply kathleen6 years agokathleenThe place I have felt truly at home is in the field of freedom from judging, worry, evaluating…Just being at home with what is happening. Its a beautiful place and it is possible to be in this place anywhere I am and I hope to find this home more and more during my day in my life. 4 Reply Antoinette6 years agoAntoinetteKathleen , Letting go over and over again of the mind that clings. Thank you for this . 0 Reply Jane6 years agoJaneWhat a beautiful descriptive thought Kathleen, thank you for sharing it. 1 Reply Missy6 years agoMissyHome is where the heart is . I truly feel at home with the ones I love. The place I’ve called home is Saint Petersburg, Florida. 2 Reply Michael6 years agoMichaelfor about 3 months in 2009 I felt at home in the back of my suv. I have felt at home in many places. there were 2 places I did not feel at home and I had to leave. I am grateful for both types of experiences because I have grown from both. 2 Reply Ed Schulte6 years agoEd SchulteWhat are some of the places I have called home, and truly felt at home? Echoing the 'Word of the Day' "Even Socrates, who lived a very frugal and simple life, loved to go to the market. When his students asked about this, he replied, “I love to go and see all the things I am happy without.” Wise Socrates knew that the only True ONE "Home" is the Original Source of ones existence. That 'place' we have never left1 And yet, for some strange reason, the egoic mind thinks it is separat... What are some of the places I have called home, and truly felt at home? Echoing the ‘Word of the Day’ “Even Socrates, who lived a very frugal and simple life, loved to go to the market. When his students asked about this, he replied, “I love to go and see all the things I am happy without.” Wise Socrates knew that the only True ONE “Home” is the Original Source of ones existence. That ‘place’ we have never left1 And yet, for some strange reason, the egoic mind thinks it is separate from Home and therefore it must have a material place to call “home”! But Truly, “Home” is in the “BEness” of “Beingness” Read More3 Reply Antoinette6 years agoAntoinetteEd , Yes Home isn’t the place we never left . The oneness of beingness. Our practice to remember we are home over and over. The ego wants us to believe in separation. But as you wrote wise socrates knew that the only true one home is the original source of one’s essence. We never left there was never separation. Beautiful and I am truly grateful. 2 Reply Ed Schulte6 years agoEd SchulteAntoinette Yes Indeed! There is nerve enough said about egoisms/materialisms poor habit of identifying with material possessiveness. Not that it is a fault to like a comfortable material home, the source wishes us to be in its Pleasure in ALL its Being-ness. But problems arise when egoism of present-day- personality gains power, and causes us to turn away from putting highest efforts into staying aware of our truth HOME, yes as you and I both agree, the HOME we never left. The new 'W... Antoinette Yes Indeed! There is nerve enough said about egoisms/materialisms poor habit of identifying with material possessiveness. Not that it is a fault to like a comfortable material home, the source wishes us to be in its Pleasure in ALL its Being-ness. But problems arise when egoism of present-day- personality gains power, and causes us to turn away from putting highest efforts into staying aware of our truth HOME, yes as you and I both agree, the HOME we never left. The new ‘Word of the Day’ 2017 11 24 reads “Seek not, my soul, the life of the immortals; but enjoy to the full the resources that are within thy reach. PINDAR” So it seems the Moderators are reading our conversation because this quote does have some reflection on what we are saying. But I have to respectfully disagrees with Pindar on one important thing,… “Seek not, my soul, the life of the immortals” In Original Christianity, even before Joshua Emmanuel’s mortal appearance, it was clearly known that the Soul is perfect, so IT NEVER “seeks” for anything! It is the Self ( and note here that Dr David uses the convention of capital “S” Self for this as we Essenes do when he is writing ) that records the loving experiences while in mortal existence, for the Soul-Self. ( When we reach THEOSIS we retain our individuality so “Soul-Self” ) Later on the 4th and 5th centuries C.E. church official decided the to cause confusion ( Fear?) among the common people and distorted this aspect of the Self and started teaching that “one can lose the Soul” and hence such expressions as “S.O.S.” Have you read Br David’s “Deeper then Words”? I highly recommend his Chapter “The Only Son of God” He covers this well but from another approach …mainly the confusion between Who is Jesus and Who/What is Christ (And I am amazed that the Catholic Church hasn’t reprimanded him for it, it has never be said by any other Catholic I have know) I highly recommend it and I very sorry that more participant on this site do not seem interested in Br David’s work. But so be it, Thank You sharing and reflecting on the importance of getting back to the True Teaching / Knowing / of Who we are as Pure Essence. Be Well Be Present EdS Read More0 Reply Michael6 years agoMichaelHome is where the peace is. 5 Reply Cintia6 years agoCintia. And bees that visit me in sometimes. I’m really grateful for the house where I live, is my home sweet home. And I truly felt at home when I find family or friends and they received me with the open arms. A hug made me felt at home. 3 Reply Cintia6 years agoCintiaI believe the place where I’m living nowadays is my first home. The house is a little house. It’s perfect. Colorful walls, there is a window in the kitchen, my special space, I cook, I observe the garden, the birds, read… During the night is quiet, so I can sleep very well because is very quiet. In the mornign I wake up with the rooster’s song. I love it! Now I have some little trees: Papaya, raspberry, blackberry and acerola. 4 Reply Kevin6 years agoKevinSome of the places that I routinely feel at home with, or in, are: Our own home! Our Quaker meetinghouse, On West Island Beach, In a whaleboat, And in my bed. 3 Reply Antoinette6 years agoAntoinetteEven Socrates, who lived a very frugal and simple life, loved to go to the market. When his students asked about this, he replied, "I love to go and see all the things I am happy without." JACK KORNFIELD I just recently did a course with Jack Kornfield and Tarra it was very meaningful. I found useful ways to develop my practice. To answer the question I would say the old saying: Home is where the heart is. But I would add to that by saying I have changed deeply in many ways these past years... Even Socrates, who lived a very frugal and simple life, loved to go to the market. When his students asked about this, he replied, “I love to go and see all the things I am happy without.” JACK KORNFIELD I just recently did a course with Jack Kornfield and Tarra it was very meaningful. I found useful ways to develop my practice. To answer the question I would say the old saying: Home is where the heart is. But I would add to that by saying I have changed deeply in many ways these past years. Like today’s quote touches on, I feel that happiness to me has much more to do with an open heart ready to give. I’m most at home in myself when I’m not clinging to the past or worried about the future. Home is this present moment and an attitude of gratitude. To be able to be like Socrates and have wisdom of the heart is Home. I’m grateful for coming home again and again by letting go over and over. Read More6 Reply Ed Schulte6 years agoEd SchulteAntoinette, your sentiments of "Home" sparked recall of Brother David's words on that "Place" in our Being-ness ...... Quoting from ""Deeper then Words" The Apostle's Creed" "Salvation" is homecoming. When love, not power, reign supreme, alienation from ourselves, from all others, and from God is healed. The moment we realize we can never fall out of God's love, we "come to ourselves" ( like the wayward son in the parable ) to our true Self, at home in the God household as a uniquely love... Antoinette, your sentiments of “Home” sparked recall of Brother David’s words on that “Place” in our Being-ness …… Quoting from “”Deeper then Words” The Apostle’s Creed” “Salvation” is homecoming. When love, not power, reign supreme, alienation from ourselves, from all others, and from God is healed. The moment we realize we can never fall out of God’s love, we “come to ourselves” ( like the wayward son in the parable ) to our true Self, at home in the God household as a uniquely loved member of the family. And now we become the catalysts for the salvation of the whole world, its transformation from power and domination to service and love. Salvation–and this needs to be stressed–is not a private matter.’ End Quote and AMEN! to that Place Brother David! Read More6 Reply Ose6 years agoOseThank you for your inspiring and helpful reply full of warmth. It helps guiding me in some confusion. May you always feel embraced in this moment of love which you offer. 3 Reply My Private Gratitude Journal Write an entry in your private gratefulness journal Get Started This site is brought to you by A Network for Grateful Living, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations are fully tax deductible in the U.S.A. CONTRIBUTE https://demo.gratefulness.org/content/uploads/2015/03/GX-Gold-Participant-L.png Community Engagement Guidelines Privacy Policy [email protected] Connect with us on Social Media: © 2000 - 2024, A Network for Grateful Living Website by Briteweb