If home really is where the heart, is then my home is with my daughter and husband. I’ve spent the past few days away from home.
While away I’ve enjoyed …
- laugh out loud moments
- sand as soft as powdered sugar
- sunsets like no other
- time with a beautiful friend
- getting lost in a new town
Even though I am really enjoying myself, I miss home. I don’t miss my house, or anything that is in a drawer or closet, but I miss my family. My daughter has been sick over the past couple of days, and while my husband is taking great care of her, I wish I could be with them.
Since I’ve abandoned my love and need for stuff, I’ve been able to more clearly define what home means and doesn’t mean to me.
Home is not …
- a number of square feet
- a place to store stuff
Home does mean
- comfort
- family
- love
- joy
It’s becoming more and more evident to me that home is not a place, but a feeling. While I’ll grow, learn and laugh in my last day away from home, I’m looking forward to getting back and being with the people that are my home.
Please consider this blog your home, or your home away from home. Perhaps you need a place to rest while you build or redefine what home means to you.
Welcome home.
Great simple post! Learning to be at home inside, discovering a measure of inner peace, allows you to love your family and be loved, and love the world around you. It allows you find a degree of comfort, wherever you are. I guess the more you minimise, the more you get in touch with this!
Lovely. I can feel your peace and happiness in your writing, Courtney. xo
Great post and excellent point. Home has absolutely nothing to do with things but that feeling we carry with us and the people around us. When people ask my wife and I where “home” is, we look at each other and say “wherever he/she is”.
It is true that home is where the heart is and that is more likely with a person than a thing. Thank you for sharing this wonderful message and reminder.
Good timing. My housemate questioned why I don’t “settle” into our house, she gets amused why I don’t get attached to where I live.
When I didn’t know about minimalism, I felt like I’m alone in feeling that the physical home is nothing. Especially if I don’t have the people in there that makes it home.
That was totally inspiring !!!
Greetings from México City.
Well said. Friends dropped in last night, apologizing for not calling. Please, come in – you make my house a home! They are dog lovers (helps in this home) and we had a wonderful time chatting and catching up. People and relationships are most important. Thanks for reminding me what “home” really is.
I’ve been pondering the same thing lately, as my husband and I gear up for what looks to be a rushed and rather unpleasant move in a pretty challenging time of life (three months until our baby is born). Regardless of the roof over our heads, we find our safety, our comfort, and our reality within each other’s arms.
Thank you for your post! It was a lovely confirmation of my own thought trend. I am sure the reunion with your husband and daughter will be full of joy!
I know exactly what you mean Courtney. I moved house last year and it was a bit of a dump for a while. We had a lot of work to do on the house to make it comfortable. But it was home I had that feeling that I belonged here with my wife and dog.
Thanks for reminding me that home is a feeling, I had forgotten that recently.
So true!
I travel abroad in my work and I always feel lonely is some part of my heart. My wife and kids mean everything to me.
Feeling like that when abroad helps me remember to show them how much I value them when I get back home.
It also makes it easier to say “I love you” and “I miss you”.
Thanks for the post. It helped me.
The line that grabbed me was “home is not a place to store stuff.” Another reminder to be mindful of what I “bring home.” Better to bring home the free stuff, like love, patience, gratitude, and a sense of humor. Thanks!
Home is eating a delicious dinner with your family, with a Christmas tree on the background, and low holiday music playing in the room!
Home is a sanctuary filled with the people you love. As the only person that wants to embrace a minimalist lifestyle in my family, I would appreciate any tips you can give about this upcoming “stuff” season. I just want to spend time with the people I love, not spend time with shopping for or receiving “gifts”.
I’m a single guy so for me home is even simpler. Home is wherever I can close the door and lay down while feeling secure that this place is only for me.
Beautiful post! Thank you for helping me stay focused and keep my inner peace in this mad world.
love this post and really enjoy your blog! you’re inspiring me to be more and live with less. i completely agree with you about what home is. thanks for sharing with us and keep writing!
Home is where my entire family, 4 grown kids, 4 spouses/sig others, 7 grandchildren and 3 dogs are together, enjoying one another’s company! Unfortunately I don’t get to enjoy the large group that often, difficult to get everyone together at the same time these days! So most days, home is me and my dear hubby of 30 years, my ol’ yeller dog, and my new little puppy!
Great post!
Bernice
What a lovely post! I write about finding the balance in your daily life, and one of the ways to do that is by asking yourself: “What do I really want out of life?” It seems that you have done just that and answered with your daughter’s and husband’s names. Thank you for sharing this 🙂
What a nice post.It’s great to have a little relaxation everyday.
Right on, home is not necessarily a building or a place, it’s simply wherever the people you love are. I can relate to that. We’re in the process of downsizing to a smaller place, and home will be wherever we all end up, as long as we are together.
I love the idea of making yourself at home with a blog. I write a blog myself and want my readers to feel the same way. I think I will try to accomplish this through a sense of comfort and a splash of realness.
I love to travel, I love to visit new places, I love to know new cultures….but in the end, is the feeling of coming home that I enjoy more : ) Sometimes we just travel to discover we don’t need to go far, to feel so good….that’s kind of minimalist no?
In traveling this week, I didn’t have time to respond to comments on this post. That said, I wanted to you let you know that each of your comments inspired me, made me smile and brought me closer to home. I look forward to connecting on future posts!
You are such an inspiration to me! And thank you for making me feel welcome at your site. I hope you had a wonderful reunion with your family! 😉