I often describe what I am doing in my life as wandering in the desert or sometimes through the forest. When I lived in British Columbia and in Quebec the mountains helped me see and orient myself as I looked into the distance. Now that I live in Ontario it is the Lake that I look to. I used to believe this is a temporary state of living or being and eventually I would “settle down” and now I am not so sure. I am coming to see and believe it is more a way of living. I have never really settled anywhere for long. Rarely do I attached myself or grow deep roots in any one place specifically. The longest I have lived in a home is seven years. My sense being grounded and rooted has often been a challenge for me and over the years I have discovered there are many different ways of “being home”.

The bible tells us stories of people who travelled for years looking for the Promised Land. Some died before they arrived.  The people of Turtle Island tell stories of their people travelling from place to place following the source of food.  Their homes were portable and easy to pick up and move when required. In Europe there were those who travelled in caravans setting up camps on the outskirts of established communities and were known as gypsies. 

Today we make reference to “the homeless” or “unhoused” who live in parks or on the streets. Those who live on the fringes of society unable, for many reasons, to grow deep roots in any one place are seen as a problem or symptom of something wrong in the social order of the human family.

I have a strong need to “belong” and “be seen, heard and acknowledged”. So it is that I seek community – a group of people who I feel and sense a shared experience of life with and are able to relate to me in a way that is both meaningful and affirming. When I move and my community changes I find myself seeking new connections in new places. I have to remind myself that it takes time to form bonds that are heartfelt and spiritually rooted in something beyond the stuff of life. Toko Pa author of the book “Belonging” talks about belonging ourselves. It is something we do when we find the people we most want to spend time with. I most often stay connected to those I have left behind as well as meeting new friends where I currently live.

I strongly believe it is also very important to connect with those who are not of like mind and like heart because it is through those connections that we learn and grow by either expanding our horizons or seeing more clearly what it is that makes us different. At the same time, having a sense of our belonging to a greater whole is what gives us the courage and strength to face our differences without judgement rather with respect.

Through my travels in life I have seen how much my connection to people across this land I call home has really supported me and given me a sense of belonging and a sense of being home no matter where I live. Home is truly where my heart is.