Weekly Reflections #30: What makes a place feel like Home?

"Home" is a state of mind. What do you think, "Can a construction with four walls be called a home?" No, you need more than a bed, a bedroom, and a kitchen or a sitting room. I feel whatever makes you feel comfortable that one should have in our home, only then we can call it our home.

 

Similarly, you need family members in your home who love you so that it becomes your "home." You should be attached to everything in your home to call it your home. You should have lovely memories in your home, you should feel safe in your home. At the end of a tiring day, everybody wants to go home. Nobody wants to go to a set of rooms, but everyone wants to go home. A home is where you love to be and where your loved ones live, that is your home.

I really like my home, and let me tell you that last year I had to do a lot of hard work due to renovation in my house, but I had no problem doing it even though I had to spend about 6000 dollars or 35000 if I say in a Steem terms at today's rate.

My home and I have a sense of freedom. It makes me feel at home. I can walk around my apartment without any hesitation or showoff. In some ways, I feel more at home here than I feel anywhere else. I have set it up exactly the way I want it.

I have lived and spent a lot of time with my wife in the service abroad, and I noticed she always talked about “going back home.” That meant eventually going back to home, back in our country. I knew I would do that, but I didn’t call it “going home.” For me, home is where I am at that time.

I don’t get too sentimental about certain cities or countries. Every city or country has its own pros and cons. My current and permanent place is NCR Delhi, and it is the best for me because I am no longer in a regular job, and I don’t have a car, and everything seems very convenient in this house. So the house I live in is important. I have a few corners where I can spend my spare time. Or I can spend my time when I sit and spend some "me time."

 
But I feel comfortable in my home. And my computer gives me a chance to connect with the world. I feel very much at home in my current location.

I used to travel a lot for business, and there were many hotels I stayed in over and over again over the years. When I traveled for business, I had trouble sleeping even in the best hotels. I would wake up in the morning and look out the window and get confused and imagine, how is my window on the other side of the room?

I often felt how did the color of the curtain change? There was a mango tree outside, or what happened to the pomegranate tree? Or why am I seeing this different tree outside this different looking window?

I have always spent most of my time in this house for almost 30 years. I live in this house for 30 years, without knowing what would happen in the future. It has been almost one and half decade since I left my house, which is actually almost the equal time that I spent there, yet I feel this is my home.

Whenever I remember, my heart fills with a bittersweet longing. Living in one house for a lifetime is a luxury that very few people can claim today. As global citizens, we strive to adapt to changing times, often connecting with roots far from our birthplace. As we chase life, the fundamental feeling of home becomes elusive.

At the age of 17-18, I went on a solo trip and missed home a lot, but also enjoyed the fun of settling down in new places. I admitted at the time that despite all the odds, I find myself getting attached to places other than home, which makes it even harder to say goodbye when the time comes.

Sure, I have embarked on a journey of creating and cherishing temporary homes in each of my long corporate career. I personally know some individuals who may not be able to tackle the difficult task of living in unfamiliar places into their new home, but I have done it comfortably. I admit it wasn’t easy, but I did it, and each time I did it, I eventually moved on and accepted it as my home.

While I have no qualms in admitting that during my many relocations, I have always been fascinated by the change, which eventually leads to a return to my wanderlust, I have missed my home often, if not every day. I have always felt like I am living in a place that is never truly ours, but I still turn it into my personal refuge, even if it is temporary. I make it my home.

I know many of you will ask if this is possible through the act of filling rooms with your personal mementos and favorite objects. My answer is no, but you feel at home with your loved ones.

What I would like to say here is that when we are in a new home, our new memories connect with old ones and enhance our ability to embrace change and adapt to the new environment. If we can do this, then we overcome the navigating trends of our lives, constantly moving forward, yet it is always manna that we crave to have a home that we can call our own.

I would like to say here that home is not the four walls, the decorated rooms under the roof, but any random place can become a home where our mind and body can be in sync with that place, or maybe I have changed so many houses even though I have had my own, which I have considered as my home. However, our past pulls us towards our home, and the present makes our new home our unique signature of our new ownership.

After experiencing and giving a lot of thought to the places we live in, I believe it all depends on how we can connect the food, rituals, objects, and other experiences in our new home to our home, as these are the foundation of the connection we feel in any home we adopt.

I guess, though I am not a foodie, you must admit that our relationship with food is timeless and deeply rooted in our traditions; it is one of our main priorities. So if we indulge in our cooking at home, and if we prepare these dishes that not only fill our home with enticing aromas and flavors, then we also treat the new place as our home.

I am not a big fan of cooking, but I often cook something or the other, especially when my wife is not at home, or she has health issues.

Every home has its own customs and rituals, which we have incorporated into our daily lives. If we perform all those rituals at home, whether it is your traditional home or a temporary home, then you do feel a connection with that house, but yes, unless your loved ones are around, then the consistency is a bit difficult.

There are other rituals that make a house a home, like cleaning the house or lighting up the house on festivals. These rituals make our house feel like a home. These rituals hold together memories, beliefs, and values ​​around us, which have a positive impact on our lives.

We always fill our surroundings with things that reflect our personal stories. The storerooms of your house also have great significance in making your home unique. Or any old or new object that is kept somewhere, and what you see in your house over the years and learn something from it and what speaks to your soul. All these things connect our past and present, and all these things turn a house into a home.

You will agree with me that beyond all these physical things, a house is also shaped by other experiences. Moments of laughter with your family, sadness, dreams you have realized, and how you have faced challenges and taken your family forward. I have no hesitation in saying that our soul resides within the walls of our home. The walls and roof of our home not only become a refuge for our existence but also a reflection of our emotions. All the memories that we have associated with our home create a unique story for us.

Everyone needs a home. Everyone needs to feel that they belong to a place. Especially when they are away from their roots. But do you think there is just one right way to do this? No, We all do it differently and in our own way. I have lived so many times away from my real home, but every time I built a second home, I felt that I was always connected to that place even though it will not be mine forever.

Thanks, @damithudaya, here I am to give you my version about, "What makes a place feel like Home?" I hereby invite @josepha, @charter, @senehasa and @suboohi

Images all mine
Beneficiary @worldsmile