How many times haven’t we heard, or even used the saying ourselves, “Home Is Where The Heart Is?” I know that I’ve used that saying myself in the past. So I was idly minding my own business the other when I started to think about this in a little more details. I know that the idiomatic expression is there to explain to us that no matter what our surroundings are like we can make a “go of it,” and really, turn any situation around into a positive and favourable experience. But I would like us to look at this expression a little more, well, literally.
In order for us to understand this expression literally we need to define what we mean by ‘heart.’ Etymologically speaking (a big word describing how a big word got so big in the first place), ‘heart’ could mean essence, core, centre or any other word describing the essential ‘you’. In the Old Testament the word ‘heart’ is translated from the Hebrew nephesh, meaning ‘the sum total of that which makes a human a living being,’ that would include our thoughts, motives, actions, and physiologically speaking, our breathing. So ‘heart’ really encompasses everything you and I are. IN this context, the expression that our home is where our heart is would really describe a person who is completely at peace with themselves and their surrounding. Does this sound like a utopian statement? And, is this state of mind really achievable?
I have noticed (in my own life and in that of my friends, acquaintances and strangers) how, in the absence of a balanced heart, we try to substitute it with stuff outside of this inner-self definition. In this scenario, our home becomes a house, a bond, a living-up-to-the-Jones’, an interior decorating style, and the latest, state-of-the-art gadgets. I am reminded of an advertisement that played on TV a while back, advertising (I think) a credit card provider. In this advert the narrator places a value on things in and around the house that we are able to buy for our children. The value increased for each of the items listed. At the end the camera shows a little girl of about three years old, laughing and playing in a simple cardboard box. The punch line of the advert came over this picture: the value was simply priceless. And so it should be in our own lives; it would be the basic things, stuff apparently without value that would actually enrich our lives. And in enriching our lives it would somehow contribute to the balancing of our heart-state!
I consider essential things to be family, friends, love, contentment and taking infinite pleasure in each breath. None of these things can be purchased at our local supermarket; in fact, there is not enough money or gold in the entire world that can pay the price for any of these. They are, simply, priceless.
Our authors focus this month on issues relating to this: home making. As you will find, the views expressed in this issue go beyond the mere physical spaces we occupy, but doesn’t ignore it; we go from time to eternal; we go from the end by looking at the beginning; we get to the finish line by remembering the sound of the starting gun. Please join us on our adventure and discoveries.
I have noticed (in my own life and in that of my friends, acquaintances and strangers) how, in the absence of a balanced heart, we try to substitute it with stuff outside of this inner-self definition. In this scenario, our home becomes a house, a bond, a living-up-to-the-Jones’, an interior decorating style, and the latest, state-of-the-art gadgets. I am reminded of an advertisement that played on TV a while back, advertising (I think) a credit card provider. In this advert the narrator places a value on things in and around the house that we are able to buy for our children. The value increased for each of the items listed. At the end the camera shows a little girl of about three years old, laughing and playing in a simple cardboard box. The punch line of the advert came over this picture: the value was simply priceless. And so it should be in our own lives; it would be the basic things, stuff apparently without value that would actually enrich our lives. And in enriching our lives it would somehow contribute to the balancing of our heart-state!
I consider essential things to be family, friends, love, contentment and taking infinite pleasure in each breath. None of these things can be purchased at our local supermarket; in fact, there is not enough money or gold in the entire world that can pay the price for any of these. They are, simply, priceless.Our authors focus this month on issues relating to this: home making. As you will find, the views expressed in this issue go beyond the mere physical spaces we occupy, but doesn’t ignore it; we go from time to eternal; we go from the end by looking at the beginning; we get to the finish line by remembering the sound of the starting gun. Please join us on our adventure and discoveries.
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