January 24, 2025

Home

I’ve been wondering lately about what homesickness and the word home mean. I’ve learned that for me, home is a lot like happiness, not found outside but found within. Today, I was reminded of home; I broke fast with a bowl of yogurt, fruit and almonds with a cup of hot tea. This is my go-to breakfast, and so my belly was feeling better afterwards. Today, I didn’t feel great but found rest to be the best way to honor what my body was telling me.

I’m astonished at how quickly I can adapt to different environments. I’ll be working with the fabulous people at Parikrama for the next 2 months. I feel I’ll also have another reminder of home in this experience because I’ve also learned that this idea of home is also felt when I connect with people. I once sought to be as independent as possible, and lately, in Seattle, I’ve explored what it means to be interconnected and to center community and the collective good. I’ve learned that we are built for community and really need each other. To me, this is more like home rather than being inside a place with walls and such.

To end this blog, I’ll remind myself how even a place can still be a home. Like many things, 2 or more things can be true simultaneously. When I came back from Srirangapatna, it felt like coming home. I feel like I wasn’t the only one, and seeing Mama the dog was another reminder of home. I’m unsure if her name is Mama, but she is Mama to me. It has been almost three weeks since I landed in India, and I miss my real mama. So maybe I’m not homesick; maybe I just miss my mama.

By,
Manny