++ Home ++

A house is not a home. Last spring, one would find me utter those words and understand what I had been through. Well, I did have a home back then, but it just was not the empty shell where I was dwelling at. It was something different; something I could neither touch nor behold, but I knew it was there. It was a place of comfort and tranquility. It gave me a reason to smile, to laugh, and strangely enough, to be ‘small’. That I no longer needed to appear strong; that it was okay to be weak, and to be what a human is.

Yes, I had a house and a home. But alas, that home I loved is no longer there; for life wanted me to have a home somewhere else. Frankly, everything has been a strange turn of events. The house, that was unbearable cold, has begun to exude warmth. It may not yet be a home, but I no longer feel hollow within.

I know, I know. I am not making any sense at all. You may wonder what has compelled me to write such a cryptic post. Perhaps it was due to my encounter with three individuals in the past week. Three different beings, three different professions, three different places, three different characters, but one thing in common. And through this one thing, I was able to connect with these people in the most amazing way.

Yes, that home of the past might have forever closed its door on me. But I did leave me with a key. A key to open many other homes for years to come. The homes that are people. I am grateful, though sometimes nostalgia lingers, and I wish I could rest in that home just one more time!