As I am letting go of having a physical ‘home’ of my own, I am getting curious about the idea of home in general. I told my brother last weekend about my plans to travel for a year. After a bit of discussion he said, “so you will be homeless?” And the only answer I had was “I guess so!”

I grew up in one house for the first 20 years of my life. A single foundation and walls that protected me as I began to venture out into the world. My first several years of college were softened by the ability to drive back to the only house I had ever known any time I needed a piece of home.

I was born and raised knowing every square inch of that house and surrounding land. It felt safe and easy to be myself. I can remember the deep ache I felt within my chest when my mom moved from that house. Even though I wasn’t living with my mom at that time and never would for more than a few months ever again, I felt like I lost a part of me.

There is something innately within us that desires to have roots. To have stability and a home. That part of me must have been a bit fractured because I rarely felt connected to a place since that first house.

As I prepare to move, I am realizing I am rooted into my current apartment physically like never before. I have gone through an entire lifetime in this place. I have cycled through birth, life, death and rebirth multiple times in the past few years. This apartment became a cocoon at times but also transformed into whatever I needed in the moment.

Despite the roots I established here for the past two years, I am not sure if home is meant to be a physical place.

We often hear, “Home is where the heart is.” What exactly does this mean?

Many traditions believe the heart is where the soul resides. This idea that our soul is held within our heart is a beautiful image. A single heart, protected by a solid cage of ribs and a sturdy spine. It is strong and powerful and is completely balanced in giving and receiving.

Our soul is thought to be where our true authentic self resides. In yogic philosophy our true self is what is permanent in this world. Everything else is thought to be impermanent or temporary, including our physical body. If home is where my heart is, than does that mean my truest home is held within my soul? The only permanent part of myself is where my most permanent home exists.

What if the idea of home being a place or a person is just a bit off? Maybe it is what we are taught to distract us from what is truly possible. When we find that home is found within our soul, the part of us that is the deepest and purest form of our true nature, we will begin to see how much potential that allows.

When we find home within ourselves, it is easier to see that our physical location is always temporary. Our home, is simply the most wise and perfect part of our being. I do not need to long for my physical home or even grieve for the people that feel like home to me. Yes, I can find home in a place, a person or a building, but those can never be my true home.

Home is always with me, no matter where I go. I am deeply rooted within my own soul and this is where I feel at home.

What feels like your wisest and truest home?