HOME

"A home is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as for the body. For human beings are not so constituted that they can live without expansion. If they do not get it in one way, they must in another, or perish." (Margaret Fuller)

Today I sat in my kitchen for hours with a variety of friends and family, eating and then conversing in an unhurried way. We shared thoughts and ideas on a plethora of subjects. We discussed possibilities and hopes for the future. We laughed about unexpected events of the week past. We solved a few scheduling problems and considered the possible reasons for an unhappy baby. Then we ate some more.

I've lived in a large number of houses in my life, most of which were very common and unremarkable, nothing fancy. I've never had much money or riches of the world. But I have a HOME-- a place where I am heard, where I can learn, where I can ask questions, where I am valued. I have a home where I can try new things, succeeding at some and failing at others. I have a home where everyone is always welcome. I have a home where I can find answers to my questions and new questions to open my mind.


My home is a comfortable place often filled with sound: voices, music, balls bouncing, treadmill running, cards shuffling, weights clanking, laughter, phones ringing, horns honking, TV and computers blaring, even animal calls. But in these same walls are moments of quiet study and contemplation, earnest conversation and prayerful pondering.

I may never live in a new house or have new furniture or a big screen TV. But in my home, we will often have banquets for "the mind as well as the body". Though I never finished my college education or furthered my formal training in music or art, I have found in my home opportunities for "expansion" that keep me learning and growing..............and very happy.


"Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need." (Sarah Ban Breathnach)