In my office sits a pair of child-size shoes. They are cute (dazzling), red (ruby), and symbolic (the entire point of my work is embedded in their meaning). I purchased them over 25 years ago after a particularly poignant conversation with a young client whose house had burned to the ground in the middle of the night just a few weeks earlier. She was safe, along with her family and Simba, their new kitten.
All those years ago, that conversation got me thinking about the concept of “home,” and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
Is “home” something you ever think about? Where is it? What is it? Is it a place, a dwelling, a time in your life, a person? What if what you associate with “home” is no longer here? Does that give you a sense of being “homeless,” ungrounded, or adrift?
I think many people feel this way. I say this because many tell me so, although perhaps not in these words. Still, the feeling comes through.
In today’s newsletter, I hope to inspire you to think about what “home” means to you and to offer some thoughts on how you may cultivate or deepen your own sense of belonging and inner stability.
Back to the tiny pair of shoes in my office. They represent Dorothy’s ruby slippers in the iconic 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz. I keep them on display as a reminder of where I believe the most enduring sense of home really comes from: within.
Let me explain.
We all know that external homes, whether in the form of a physical place, a relationship, or a person do not last or live forever. My client lost her house and everything in it. Many reading this newsletter have lost precious loved ones. So have I. While these possessions and more importantly, these cherished people, have graced our lives bringing much richness and happiness to it, each of us must eventually face the prospect of life without them. What do we do then? How do we maintain and preserve our sense of strength, fortitude, and spirit? I believe we do this by discovering and harnessing our truest sense of home.
I believe home is our Inner Wisdom.
It is our intuition and connection to our highest self. The slippers remind us of how Dorothy was guided by her own trust in her inner guidance.
I believe home stems from the safety and security we feel when our thoughts and actions are aligned with our Core Values. We trust in ourselves. We bet on ourselves. We have our own backs.
I believe home is truly where our Hearts lie; in the capacity to love and to accept love. It emanates from our empathy and human compassion.
I believe home grows from our Sovereignty, the idea that we have personal power
over our own lives, choices, and destiny.
And, I believe that home comes from knowing our true nature and its connection to a spiritual essence.
In the movie, the climax is the moment Glinda the Good Witch says to Dorothy, “You’ve always had the power (to go home), my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself.” She went on to say that all Dorothy had to do to get back to Kansas was to tap the heels of her ruby slippers three times. In other words, all we have to do is remember. Or at least remember to remember that everything we need we already have: our heart, our wisdom, and our willingness to be brave.
When we get there, I believe we’ll be home. And who could disagree, there’s no place like it.
