Home is where the body is.

Although I like to think that my love and compassion extend beyond my immediate physical space, anatomically speaking, my heart is in my body. So wherever I am, I am home.

Where is home for you?

Yesterday, I left home, my adopted home of Guatemala, a beautiful and complicated country, like all countries.

I own (or, rather, have a mortgage) on a house (pictured at left) in south Austin. I lived there for three years and have been renting it out for three years, so it cannot really be considered “my” home at this time.

Right now, I am home, in my childhood home of Round Rock, Texas, the two-story structure my parents have owned since 1989. I am sleeping in my old bedroom, using the wooden dresser and desk set they bought for me when I was eleven, going (all too frequently — one of the worst side effects of embarazo) to the bathroom where I had my first period, and in which I also happened to receive the news a couple months ago that I am pregnant.

Thanks to my enduring yoga and mindfulness practice, I feel at home in my body. I feel at home, therefore, even on an airplane or in a foreign locale. Of course, there are times when I do not feel at home, when I long for a sense of belonging. But those times are infrequent. And when they occur, I breathe deeply, feel my feet on the ground, connect with my heart and relax my face and shoulders.

But now, my body is changing. Will I still feel at home here, as this baby grows and grows? As s/he takes up more space and reduces my cherished lung capacity? Pregnancy, so far, is a huge lesson in letting go of the illusion of control, both physically and emotionally. Fortunately, so far, there is still a sense of home in my body and mind with each precious moment, each delightful day.

What is home to you?

Be just the way you have always been, with this difference: do not believe any of it, and pay close attention to all of it. ~Zen Teacher Cheri Huber