I was recently away in Zimbabwe for work. We were staying at a local teachers training college which had just built some new prefab buildings to accommodate all of us. It was so recent in fact that some of the roofs were not up yet, the paint was still wet and we had no toilet seats in our block. Our geyser burst twice in the 2 weeks we were staying there and we only had hot water despite the scourching hot weather we were having. Queues for the dining hall varied between 20 and 90 minutes with very slight variations of each meal being served every day.
Despite all these glitches, we had a bed to sleep on a roof over our heads, clean (all be it hot) running water and three relatively healthy meals to eat every day. Within only a few days we were calling this place home and when a colleague made a passing comment about the concept of home, it got me thinking.
What is the definition of home? What does ‘home’ mean to me? Is it possible to have more than one home? There is a well known saying ‘home is where the heart is’ I think that is generally true, but I can’t say that my heart lies in Zimbabwe after spending only two weeks in the country.
I have just returned from a 3 week holiday in Cape Town where I grew up and half my family still stay. I still consider Cape Town home, but I also consider my current place of residence home. If home is where the heart is, then I have a home in India as well because I spent two years living and working in India and it certainly stole a piece of my heart.
So what does ‘home’ mean? I think there is a different meaning for individuals, I do agree that home is where the heart is despite it being a cliché. But I think that the meaning of where your heart lies differs to just being about a person or a place. I think heart is about your passions, your dreams, your goals and your desires. It’s about where you spend most of your time investing and dreaming. It’s about fundamentally who you are and your core beliefs and values.
For me, this definition/ explanation of home makes sense. It makes sense then that you can have more than one home and that you can have a home for 2 weeks temporarily.
I am passionate about my work and nature, friends, family and my own goals, dreams and desires. This is why I called Zimbabwe home for two weeks, I was living part of my dream. Helping athletes achieve the best that they could using my professional skills and experience to help them to do that.
Enjoying the presence of my surroundings and striving to live my life
It is why I can go away with a bunch of friends to the bush, the sea, the mountains or a desert and call it home. Being surrounded by friends and community, enjoying and using my God given talents. It is spending time reorganizing my sisters house because it’s fun and I love her, it’s about sitting in the lounge while my parents read the paper and do crosswords while I am chatting. Enjoying the presence of my surroundings and striving to live my life to it’s fullest potential to glorify the one true God. To me, that is the definition of ‘home’.