We are all more than familiar now with the phrase “Stay at Home”, but overlooked in this phrase is a potential for a deep reminder that is worthy of consideration. We all have different and unique idea of “home”, but just as the word is truly a root word, the concept carries a seed of original wisdom. Each of us has a True Home, a place of rest, warmth, comfort, shelter, and protection. This is the most important place for each of us and demands our attention and vigilant protection like a Blue Jay protects its nest. This is the Home we need to return to, and interestingly we cannot be ordered to stay there nor can we ever be ordered to leave that Home, although we can be placed -and place one another- in circumstance that make it very difficult to be at Home.
This True Home is a place that resides in our Center, it is the place where we were born and the place we will always return to. It is only found in this very Moment. We have to all engage individually in tending to our personal Home and learning when to keep it open and allow the breeze to wash through it, and when to close it tight and reside within the warmth of its hearth. This place is not a place of escape, it can be a place of solace but it invariably it is a place of discovery.
It is good to be reminded to “Stay at Home” and it is good to remind our neighbors of that as well. We must not only provide ourselves the space and capacity to return to our Home, but we must also allow and support the capacity for our Loved-ones to return to their Homes as well. This moment we are experiencing here together with all of its surface turmoil is the perfect moment to Stay at Home.
An interesting thing occurs when we begin to find ourselves in our True Home, this experience of solace transforms into a deep and resonant empathy that connects us at the Heart to those with whom we are sharing in this Life. It is in this Place that we might begin to discover that there are others that are not given all the opportunities to find this Home, and some have these systematically taken from them. It is important to allow this revelation to occur in a centered and sympathetic space. When we find ourselves more comfortable with our True Home we are not as threatened to explore the pain and suffering that exists in the world around us and the conditions that create the pain and suffering for our fellow Beings. We know that when we are at Home we are safe and cared for and from that place can see more clearly and honestly what is occurring around us. We find often that when we are Home-more we are awakened to the awareness of those that are Home-less.
In this period of time where we are asked to spend more time in our physical homes and have these opportunities to more fully explore our spiritual Homes, we should address those living among us that do not have these opportunities. We always carry our True Homes with us -no man or woman can take that from us- but we must honestly address that this journey to our True Home is vastly more challenging when a person is living with homelessness and the mental, physical, and emotional health circumstances that are typically associated with homelessness. These people are Our Neighbors, not just the neighbors of our physical homes, but also the neighbors of our spiritual True Homes. If we can find a way to imagine ourselves in our True Home and then imagine ourselves inviting a person of need into that True Home, a person that might not have a home themselves, we might be surprised to find how much we have in common.
There are many ways you can engage with the homelessness that exists around us. I have found in my personal experience that just getting to know individuals experiencing homelessness and their personal stories has transformed my understanding of what it means to be homeless and deepened my empathy and compassion for individuals in this circumstance. It has also motivated me to take personal action in my life to support these people and to address the underlying conditions in our human world that facilitate these outcomes in people’s lives. I cannot personally heal all the pain and suffering of the people experiencing homelessness that I see and meet, but I can look at them as my Brothers and Sisters and not be ashamed to look into their eyes and see myself reflected. It is humbling to realize that we all are jointly responsible for homelessness in our communities, and it is empowering that we can actively engage in helping change these circumstances for others and in doing so we might be surprised by what changes for the better within ourselves. Where homelessness is, there is also hopeful and loving people doing everything they can to support those experiencing homelessness. I assure you that if you take the time to explore you will find resources in your community that are helping those in need in your community and that are worthy of your support.
I hope that when we hear and read the words “Stay-at-Home” we can invite ourselves back to our True Home and also take time there to light a candle and hold vigil in our Heart for those who are experiencing homelessness in its various forms. I hope from this place we can gather the Love and the resolve to help those in need and firmly establish a practice of actively engaging in our Communities and treating others with the Love and the Compassion that we all deserve.
