Home is Every Where

"But do not ask me where I am going as I travel in this limitless world, where every step I take is my home."   ~ Dogen ~
What home looks like to me:)
Since we left our former home 6 years ago, a lot of people ask us and seem to be concerned about stability. "How will the kids have a sense of home", they say. "They will never feel connected to any people or place", others offer. We know they mean well and that they are coming from a different perspective than we are now but it does get me thinking about it.

I want to tell them they are crazy and shrug off their worries, but I can’t completely. Part of this journey for us is to take a broader look at the world and that includes trying to understand everyone, not just people that think and see things like I do. So as I think through what home means to us I have to admit that I am shocked by what I come up with.

They are a little wrong AND a little right!


How are they wrong?

One month after "settling down" in Penang, my 5-year-old started asking when we would go to a new hotel (home). Last week my 9-year-old told me he was done here in Penang and pondered how on Earth we stayed living in Costa Rica so long (5 whole years). Contrary to popular belief, no one in the house cries themselves to sleep wishing they had a home. Not ever!

One of the greatest gifts this lifestyle has given all of us is the ability to focus on and trust in ourselves and our relationships rather than relying on things and buildings to give us a sense of who we are or where we belong. The song and corresponding video below says it so well I just had to include it.
"Home is where ever I'm with you!"





We could not agree more, in fact it is a family motto of sorts (and if you have not heard the song please listen and let it make your soul smile:). We have learned that home is not a place or a house but rather a feeling, an extension of unconditional love. We provide that for each other every day no matter where we are. So no matter where we are it is our home!

How are they right?

A year or so ago I went to our former home in the US. I was there by myself and was on a mission to get rid of all the things we had left behind. It was cleansing and freeing to know that our possessions were now down to what we carried with us but at the same time I struggled with my time there. It may have been getting rid of the last “things” that tied me to the US, or the fact that my family was back in Costa Rica and I was missing them terribly, but either way it was rough.

The cumulative effect left me feeling sad, anxious, and wondering where exactly I belong. I no longer am tied to CT or the US for that matter…so where then?? The answer is nowhere, not one specific place at least, but rather the world, the collective universe. The kids feel the same way, having never really felt tied to a specific location they see the whole world as their home, the whole world as a place that accepts and envelops them.

Some days I feel like a traitor to the US, to my friends back home that I left behind, but most days I revel in the fact that I no longer see borders, I no longer feel ONLY attached to one place and one set of people and because of that I can see different opinions, viewpoints, an ideas. I can share that with my kids and it is one of the gifts I feel proudest to give them!


The concept of home is particularly difficult during this time of year.  No other time of year ignites a feeling of tradition and familiarity like Christmas does.  It is this time of year that most reminds us that home is family and no matter where you are in your life or on this planet...family IS home!

See what other traveling families have to say about how the definition of home has changed for them:

Flashpacker Family - My Heart Doesn't Lie at Home
http://flashpackerfamily.com/my-heart-doesnt-lie-at-home/

Living Outside of the Box - Where Is Home?
http://livingoutsideofthebox.com/2012/12/20/where-is-home-on-the-road/

Life Changing Year - I Never Thought We'd Be Home For Christmas! http://lifechangingyear.com/i-never-thought-wed-be-home-for-christmas/


Grow In Grace Life...Home... Where Ever We Are, There We Are
http://wp.me/p276hj-dL

Witness Humanity.... Things I will miss about New York (or a Guide to the Awesomeness that is NYC)
http://www.witnesshumanity.com/things-i-will-miss-about-home-or-a-guide-to-the-awesomeness-that-is-nyc

The Barefoot Nomad... Where's Home for a Barefoot Nomad? http://www.thebarefootnomad.com/travel-philosophy/where-is-home-for-barefoot-nomad

Discover Share Inspire... How to Always Be Home For the Holidays... No Matter Where in the World You Are
http://www.discovershareinspire.com/2012/12/how-to-always-be-home-for-the-holidays-no-matter-where-in-the-world-you-are

A Minor Diversion - A Minor Diversion Comes Home
http://www.minordiversion.com/2012/12/a-minor-diversion-comes-home/ ‎

Simon Says: Where are you from?
http://simonsays2010.blogspot.com/2012/12/where-you-from.html

The Nomadic Family....I Hate Home, and That One, and That One http://thenomadicfamily.com/2012/12/i-hate-this-home-and-that-one-and-this-one-coco-bungalows/

Gypseekers-Are We Home Yet?: Re-entering Society After a Round the World Adventure
http://gypseekers.com/are-we-home-yet/

Expat Experiment...Traveling Home
http://expatexperiment.com/traveling-home/


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