Home: April 26 - May 2

This photo was taken about 20 years ago. Patrick and I had just met our future son and daughter but had not adopted them yet. At our first meeting, we gave them each a little photo album of our family and friends so they could imagine our life together. The first page was of us sitting on the front steps of our home with our two dogs Mardi and Boomer. Little could we imagine all the mornings getting ready for school, celebrating holidays, singing happy birthday around the dining room table, and all the meals together. This place served us well as we learned to become a family. Within these walls we laughed and cried and grew.

When Patrick and I married 28 years ago, we promised to make our home a place of love and welcome. I'm proud to say, we have lived our vows. In just a few weeks, we will move. I will miss the red maple tree in the front yard, Lisa, our neighbor who gives winter coats to the kids on our block, magical summer evenings on the back deck, the kitchen where I made many a dessert, and the front parlor where a group of dear friends meditate on Tuesdays. I'm taking decades of memories with me.

Home may be a physical place but even more it as an inner dwelling. My address will change but Patrick and I will continue to live our lifelong vow. I'm sad to leave T Street but I am always home wherever I go.

Practice

As you read this on your phone or while at your computer, appreciate the space wherever you are. Close your eyes and think of home. Appreciate the walls that have sheltered and protected you. Maybe you're already sitting in a favorite chair in a favorite room. Maybe you're in someone else's home. Maybe you're outdoors in your neighborhood. Settle into the present moment. Take a little time to remember how these places have shaped your life day in and day out.

Home comes in many dimensions. This earth is home. This body is home. Place your hand on your heart and recall the places you hold dear. Turn through the pages of your memory and remember all the places you call home. Sense the feeling of gratitude. Abide here as long as you want. No need to rush. Feel your feet on the ground. Tune into the fullness of being here and now.

Home may be a physical place but even more it as an inner dwelling. Sense home surrounding you and sense home within you. Imagine a sacred spot within your heart where you can sit in stillness. Listen deeply, not with your ears but with your intuition. Listen beneath the thoughts and the words. What would your heart say to you this day? Write its message inside your eyelids. As you continue through the rest of the day, every now and then, when you close your eyes, see the message. Be home.