Define "Home" . . .

     An acquaintance of mine has been, and still is, on an around the world bicycle adventure. He has written 3 books about it. His comment on Facebook caught my eye this morning:

    "Trying to find my way home - I'm currently living in a house in Whitefish, Montana during these winter months when it is too cold to travel by bike. (for me) I love to ski and recently bought cross country and downhill skis and ski almost every day but when the snow melts this spring I am not sure what to do next. I eventually want to end up at my (now rented) house in Prescott, Arizona. It is paid off in 3 more years but I can't afford to live there, with the jobs available to me, until the mortgage is gone. It is a long way from Montana to Arizona and I bet the road will pull me on more travel adventures outside the USA. Maybe I am a travel addict who can't stop or maybe I deserve to go home and live a comfortable life. I have been gone so long I can't seem to find a way off the road but more and more it is my new goal."

And here's me:
    
    I live in a city I love, I'm surrounded by people, and met many in my 25 year career. But, metaphorically speaking, I'm still alone. I have that stability and comfort that this man seeks, and I'm pretty good at entertaining myself; yet, for some reason, it's not enough. So, what's missing. A thought I ponder daily.

    Am I trying to "find my way home"? If so, where and what is "home"? Is it where I now live? Is it my birthplace? Or is it a place in the back of my mind that I've always yearned for, but hasn't yet been clearly defined? The only thing I'm sure of is this: I'm not homeless. For that I am grateful. But it solidifies the notion that perhaps I haven't truly shed my innate restlessness. How was it said? Wherever I go, there I am?
 
    The full quote of the above title is this: "Every wakeful step, every mindful act is the direct path to awakening. Wherever you go, there you are." In our busy and hectic lifestyles, we often forget to be mindful and in the moment. In the "NOW". Our minds are often overloaded and overburdened with what we need to do next, where we need be next, distracted by technology, media, work, chores...the list is endless.

    But I digress. If I'm surrounded, why am I alone, fast tiring of hearing my own endless babble? Seems to me that it wouldn't matter where I am. I'd always be "alone". Maybe, just maybe, I need to take a lesson from my camera: Capture the moment, study it, revel in the miracle of it, and be happy with the results.

 Just be.