April Theme - HOME

This month, we are embracing the theme of HOME.

Where is “home” for you?

Your current residence? Your childhood home? Is it a location or something else?

Some years ago, I visited the old neighborhood of my childhood, and barely recognized it. Many places had been replaced. My old family home still stands, but with strangers living in it and creating their own memories. The place I know as “home” exists no more.

At the end of their lives, old people often talk about wanting to “go home." Whether it’s an actual place or a time in space, the home we all yearn for largely becomes a place in our minds. It’s as if we’re hardwired to find our way home, but no place can live up to the idealized version of our “home.” Thanks to the impermanent nature of things, it’s an impossible search and an unreachable goal.

Or is it? If home is a place in the mind, then it stays with us no matter where and who we are. We could choose to call any place home, since, consequently, being at home is about being present. When we close our eyes to meditate, we inhabit a collective infinite space. We may find our true eternal home at that moment, regardless of where we are — Seattle, Sao Paolo or Stockholm.

This month, we will cultivate this sense of collective home where we all belong as we turn inward during our meditation or reflection.