There's No Place Like Home

To many, the old saying: "Home is where the heart is" can be a stimulating motive for comfort and relief when feeling lonely or remote in the world. However, I believe like many things including love and beauty, a "home" and a "heart" can only be sufficiently defined by those attempting to define it. Hence, a home is in the eye of the beholder. I do believe that a home is the dwelling place of a heart and your home can only truly be defined by where your heart is located at a given time. Nevertheless, I have taken the aforementioned quote into my own hands and formed this hypothesis.

If a home is truly the dwelling place of a heart and in the heart we find the peacefulness of a home, then it is suggested that the two can be used interchangeably. The heart, much like the home, must be protected. In doing so, we must choose carefully who we let into our homes. We can't just allow anybody or anything to freely come and go as they/it please(s). When we do so, our hearts become less like homes, and more like houses. In other words, the heart becomes less pure and sincere, often even unconsciously. It becomes less comforting to those who abide in it.

A prolific balladeer once proclaimed that "A chair is still a chair...but a chair is not a house, and a house is not a home". This is true. Splenda will always be Splenda, but will never be real sugar. One is only a downgraded version of the other. Neither is perfect; however, one of them is pure. The song can be interpreted by different people in various ways. However, the main theme is concurrent with my hypothesis. A house will always be a house, but a house will never be as pure as a home/heart.

Further, a house is only temporary. If we continuously allow people to freely travel in an out of our homes as they please, we are allowing a sense of insecurity to fill us to the point where the term "house" doesn't even sufficiently fit the bill. At this point, a heart becomes somewhat of a "hotel". Or should I say "heartbreak hotel"? But what gets me, is that some people like this lifestyle of "hotel-hopping." One of my favorite teachers in high school told me once that I must create a small circle around me. This circle is meant only for me and God to reside. Period. Further out, there is a relatively larger circle, but by no means is it much bigger than the preceding. I cannot let just anyone into this circle - family is about all that would count here. Outside of this ring is the ambiguous circle of friends. This is where the line must be drawn... if I let too many people inside this ring (which is still relatively close to your innermost ring), then that's just more people than can hurt me or take my focus off what needs to be focused on. Look at what happened to Caesar. (laugh out loud.) I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but it's the truth.

Also, I'm not pointing fingers here. Read in between the lines. Like you, my heart is not a house. A house is not a home. Why? Because home is where my heart lives and I just can't let you inside.