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What Makes a Home? |
Keith Reynolds |
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I've been thinking lately
about what makes a home. Is home connected with a building? Is
home linked with the land or a geographic place? Is home where
relationships are valued and held in a sacred trust? Is home
somewhere else, something that takes up residence in our
memories?
Recently I was speaking with someone who grew up in the prairies. It reminded me of a friend of mine from Manitoba who lives outside of Toronto. There relationships make the place home for her and she would not want to be anywhere else. But when I ask if she ever misses Manitoba, a look of wistfulness appears in her eyes and she replies, “Yes, I miss the sky.” Geography has a way of shaping our identity. Ask anyone who has lived in the North. In many ways this is true for other regions of our country too. Place has a way of shaping who we are and who we become. Ask a Newfoundlander or someone from Iqaluit or the interior of B.C. I'm told that in some universities now, there is a discipline called “Place Studies,” which researches and teaches about the significance of place. 16/10/2009 09:57 PM |
While it may be true that our home
has been influenced by a sense of place, I am also aware that it is our
relationship with that place and its people that also shapes our sense
of home. Saugeen Shores is a beautiful place to live but were there not
the kind of people who intentionally or perhaps unintentionally help to
create community, the beauty would be lessened. So, is it the beauty
that shapes the community or the community which enhances the beauty?
Probably some of both. Where is home for you? What helps make it that way?
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