Home is where I am

“Home is within me. I have the power to return to that place of inner peace whenever I need it.”

By Mette Theilmann, HEREDGE

‘I miss home’. ‘I am homesick’.

But what is home, really and what it is that I am missing?

Is it simply a physical place? A feeling? A sense of belonging, or can it even be something deeper—a refuge within ourselves?

Since leaving the place I once called ‘home’ at 18, I’ve wandered across seven countries, absorbing the rich tapestry of life’s experiences and beauty. Had children and created a few ‘homes’ myself. Now, at 50 and children left ‘home’ I find myself reflecting on that familiar ache of homesickness and asking: Am I truly missing a specific place? Or am I longing or that deeper sense of comfort, security, and belonging we so often associate with the idea of home?

We traditionally define home as a fixed location, a permanent residence where we’re surrounded by family, cherished memories, and a feeling of rootedness. But for many of us, where life isn’t so fixed but filled with movement—constant change, transitions and uncertainty—what does home mean then? If my next destination is always unknown, and my roots are spread across different countries, cultures, and relationships, does that mean I have no home? Am I homeless? Or, is there a broader, more profound, fluent and individual?

Maybe it’s time to redefine what “home” means. Perhaps home isn’t just a physical
place but can be a state of being, one that we carry within us no matter where we are in the world. Home can be wherever I am.

It doesn’t have to be tethered to one particular location, one building, or even to the presence of other people. It’s empowering to realize that. Home can be within me. I am my home.

My body, mind, and soul can be my sanctuary. Wherever I go, I have the capacity to cultivate that feeling of belonging, that deep sense of peace, within myself. If we view ‘home’ this way, it transforms the concept into something far more personal, resilient and achievable. No matter how far we travel, or how unfamiliar the external world may become, we carry the essence of home inside us. Home is me.

When I feel homesick, instead of pining for a distant, unreachable place or relying on other people to make me feel at home (i.e. my parents or children), I turn inward. I check in with myself. I ask, ‘What do I need in this moment’? What will help me return to that sense of balance, comfort, and security?

Sometimes, it’s as simple as giving myself permission to rest, to breathe deeply, and to pause from the fast pace of pressure in life.

Other times, it’s seeking out the little rituals that bring me comfort, like listening to my favourite song that wraps my heart in warmth or preparing a meal that reminds me of the flavours of my childhood or when my children come ‘home to me’.

Maybe it’s spending time in creative solitude, letting my imagination flow into something that brings me joy and reconnects me to who I am at my core.

But it’s not just about physical comforts. ‘Coming home’ to myself also means checking in with my emotional and spiritual needs. I reflect on the people I surround myself with: Are they nurturing, loving, accepting of who I am and supportive? Or am I allowing the “drains” in life to pull me away from my true self ? I realign and create boundaries that protect my energy. I remind myself that home is also where I feel safe, where I can be my authentic self without fear, judgment and where I am surrounded by love, both from others and, most importantly, from myself.

So, when that familiar pang of homesickness strikes, or when I feel lost, unrooted, or out of place, I remind myself: Home isn’t just a location or a memory tied to the past.

Home is within me. I have the power to return to that place of inner peace whenever I need it. By tuning into my inner voice, by reconnecting with the things that bring me joy and comfort, by nurturing my soul, I come back home—again and again.

In a world that is often transient, unpredictable, and ever-changing, this sense of internal home becomes a compass that can guide us back to ourselves.

Home is where I am.

It’s the space I create within my heart, the love I give myself, and the peace I nurture in my soul. It’s the stillness amid the storm, the quiet amid the noise, and the certainty amid the unknown.

Wherever I go, I take home with me.

Home is where I am.