Home Is Where The Heart Is
“Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”
A friend of mine is moving house today. ('Flitting' we Bradfordians used to call it). She is upping sticks, leaving the house she has lived in for decades and making a new life in a different part of the country. It is a much-longed-for move, and one that has been a long time coming, so I wish her well.
I was asked recently how many homes I had lived in. I think it's nine, although I have not moved far geographically, and every move I've made has been my own choice.
This got me thinking about the definition of 'home'. Is it the place where our heart remains, even though our feet have moved on? Or is it simply where we feel welcome and safe?
My heart goes out to all those people around the world, especially those currently in Afghanistan, who are forced to leave their home because of war, persecution, political upheaval, ethnic cleansing, famine or natural disaster. I cannot think of anything worse than having to leave the place you love, where your family is, to travel for safety to another part of the world where everything, especially the language is strange. Click here to read what Amnesty says about the reasons people are forced to rebuild their lives in a different country.
The UK has a long history of welcoming asylums seekers and refugees. Long may it continue to do so. Click here to find out the facts from the Refugee Council.
Writing prompts:
Where is 'home' for you? Set a timer and write about it for seven minutes.
Make
a list of all the places you have lived. Have they all been your
'home'? Choose a 'home' that holds particularly happy memories
for you and write about how you felt living there.
What
makes a 'home'? What is the difference between a house and a home? What
special ingredients constitute the latter? Explore the answers to these
questions in your writing.
Imagine being forcibly uprooted from your home. If you could take just one thing with you, what would it be? Write about it and explain why.
Imagine being homeless. How do think that would be? Write about it. (Click here first to read about the work of the charity Shelter.)
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