Self Reflection: No Place Like Home

For the longest time, I couldn’t grasp the concept of home. It sounds simple enough – a safe haven, a private community, four walls of family – but always seemed a bit unattainable to me over the past decade. When you’re younger, you associate home with family dinners & sibling rivalries, being tucked into bed, private moments in a public forum. It evolves as you grow, folding itself into an abstract feeling of responsibility & necessity, a desire for your own future place to call ‘home.’

As a man, you spend your 20’s figuring out exactly what factors & levers will play into the idea of home. Some of us crave, above all else, family – enlarging ours to drive in familial community & drive out any shred of loneliness we once felt. Others push for creating a place of quiet, the proverbial break from the busyness of life. Personally, I’ve found myself wanting, more than anything, a house filled with connections. Connections to the people I love, connections to the things that I love & connections to the ideas that I love. In a way, I want it all.

For us, we have to remember that home is not about the house, but about the community. In such a material world, it’s easy to forget that it’s not about making enough money for the extra bedroom – it’s about creating a family that drives the need for it. It’s not about the acres in the backyard, but about having the kids to run around in it. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘what’ versus the ‘why,’ even if they ‘why’ is what sparks everything in the first place.

I can admit, I’m a long way from creating that vision of home I have in my head. But to me, the most important part is for determining what that vision is for yourself. Create the goal, etch it to perfection, and then fight for it. Do whatever it takes to make it happen. Because in the end, when you look back at your life, your accomplishments & everything that has led you to that very moment…you’re going to look back at the ‘home’ you created to drive all of those moments & accomplishments.

As I creep closer to 30, it’s become very, very real to me. I want to own the responsibility for a family of my own. I want to continue pushing myself forward in my career, in my love & in my family to achieve what matters most. Up until last year, I never understood the concept of home – why was it so important? But as you watch the consummation of marriages, as you begin hosting the family dinners, as you watch friends spread out across the globe, it begins to dawn on you: forever isn’t real. Life is a ticking time bomb. And I’d much rather spend the waning seconds in my perfect idea of home.

Words of Wisdom:

>>>Finding Your Purpose

>>>Moving On vs. Moving Forward

>>>Be Happy & Be a Man on the Run