what is "home"?

I read this snippet from a book on fb today and saved it because I agreed with some of it. I wanted to edit out the parts I did not agree with and replace those parts with my beliefs. I have edited it, added to it, changed it, made it mine … and now I would like to share it with you. I hope you agree. If not, feel free to change tit to suit you.

If I had the chance to speak with the characters from a few magical places I have read about, this is a question I might ask…

After reading about magical places like Neverland, Oz, Narnia and Wonderland; I often wonder… why did those of you who got to go these places ever want to leave?"

Lucy would respond, "Because no matter where you go or what you see, you'll always want to be where you belong."

That I would understand because belonging somewhere is like being home.

Wendy would probably add, "and your home is where you feel most comfortable and loved."

I understand that as well because home is supposed to be somewhere you would want to return to ..that is… if it was where you felt loved and enjoyed happy times.

Not one to be left out of a conversation, "it's a part of you," Alice would add. "It's where your family is."

And I would have to agree because places you visit, that make an impression on you, stay with you no matter where you go; just as people who affect your life become a part of your family, they become a part  of those memories you hold in your heart.

But the ultimate answer will probably come from Dorothy who learned something special from her trip. She will remind us all that no matter where we go or who we meet, if we come from a healthy, happy home filled with love, it will be the place we need in our lives to restore us to our happier selves when things don’t work out as we want or when our batteries run low.

"There's no place like home," she would say; summing it all up with her favorite comment.

And while it is true that for some, who have had unhappy childhoods, home does not bring back happy memories. It is important to remember, home is really a metaphor for a place where or a group of people with whom you receive love, compassion, support and acceptance from because of as well as in spite of who you are.

Looked at that way, there is indeed no place like a place where you receive love, support, compassion, caring, hugs and holding. There is no place like the metaphorical home…for…home is where the heart is and… where the heart is…is where you will find everything and everyone you need to be happy.