Home

One evening, a number of years ago, some time after I had moved to Winnipeg, I awoke in the middle of the night and thought, "Yeah, I'm home." That was the moment when I realized that Winnipeg was now home. Today, a year and a half after moving to Victoria, I'm still awaiting that moment.

Oh, but please don't get me wrong. I love the city here, and the people and the landscape, as well as the seascape, but it just doesn't feel like home yet. When I close my eyes and think of that magical place within my heart that resonates with the word "home", it is still Winnipeg that comes to mind.

Last night Marielle and I had a short but wonderful conversation with our son, Shoghi, who is, you may recall, only 6. Marielle, being in the military, is regularly asked about her career aspirations, and today is one of those days.

Aside - I have to admit that I find it kind of amusing and lamentable. This is the one of the busiest few weeks of the year for the band, what with their "we-can't-include-any-religion-in-our-work-but-songs-about-Jesus-and-Christmas-don't-count-and-yet-we-can't-acknowledge-any-other-faith-or-tradition-for-that-would-be-promoting-a-religion Christmas concerts", and yet they are having these interviews at this time. It really is an amazing demonstration of inefficiency and sadly taxing upon these poor people.

(And no, that wasn't a rant. Just an observation.)

So last night we talked to Shoghi about this.

We explained that there were basically three options that we had. The first was to stay in Victoria, and he already knew all about that, both the good things and the bad. The other options were to request a posting in either Ottawa or Quebec City. The advantages in those places would be that we would be much closer to Grandmaman, and some of the cousins. We would, in fact, be able to visit them at least once a month.

The little guy gave his input, and Marielle took both his and my opinions into consideration and will answer her interview questions accordingly.

But all this got me thinking about "home".

What is "home"?

Aside number two - In case you couldn't tell, I just took a one hour break. (Sorry for not warning you. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long.) During that time I had a wonderful conversation with the young man helping out in the office today. It turns out that he's from Winnipeg, too, and moved here shortly after I did. We got to talking about home, and what is home. Talk about coincidence. Oh, and we also had a delightful conversation about spirituality and the importance of seeking your own path with conscious intent. And we talked about crisis and victory, and the political scene. A wonderful conversation all round.

Ok. So, what is home? I'm not sure. And that, dear Reader, as I'm sure you know, will lead me to the Writings. What do they have to say about a home? (You've got to love Ocean. It makes this sort of thing so much easier.)

That search being done, it seems that the Writings speak of a couple of different things, and I thought I'd just look at them a bit at a time.

The first couple of quotes that caught my attention were "Be a home for the stranger"... and "I have set out from my home, holding fast unto the cord of Thy love, and I have committed myself wholly to Thy care and Thy protection... Enable me, then, to return to my home by Thy power and Thy might." In both of these instances, home seems to refer to a place where you are comfortable. When you leave that place, you embark on a journey amidst the uncomfortable, and ask God to allow you to return to that place of comfort.

To further build on that idea, Baha'u'llah says "The day is approaching when all the peoples of the world will have adopted one universal language and one common script. When this is achieved, to whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were entering his own home." And so home is also a place where you expect to be understood.

There is also a special place in the Writings accorded to the home. "To none", says Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, "is it permitted to mutter sacred verses before the public gaze as he walketh in the street or marketplace; nay rather, if he wish to magnify the Lord, it behoveth him to do so in such places as have been erected for this purpose, or in his own home. This is more in keeping with sincerity and godliness." It is a place best suited for our prayers. There is so much that I can read into this. For example, we should always pray from a place of comfort. If not, if we are praying from a place of discomfort, perhaps for something that we want, than we may not be praying with the pure sincerity that is most conducive for the efficacy of the prayers. Oh, and there is the obvious understanding that our prayers should not be used as a tool to show others how "spiritual" we are. But I'm focusing more on the home aspect of this quote.

Home is also a place that should be free of judgement, especially the judgement of others, as in the prayer that asks God to make "my home the seat which Thou hast exalted above the limitations of them that are shut out as by a veil from Thee."

Another place that home appears in the Writings is in the Hidden Words: "Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion with Me." Once again, this would be a place of supreme consolation and love. When we are feeling at one with God, at home in the world around us, then there is little that can faze us. We feel comfortable, protected, safe and secure. To do this, to achieve this, though, requires allowing that love of God to be within our very heart. "My love has made in thee its home, it cannot be concealed." "Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent."

Now, my question is how to help raise a child with this understanding. How can we assist others in our society to be aware of this? What can we do to spread this understanding of "home" and aid others to feel this, no matter where they are?

One thing that comes to mind is how Baha'u'llah described marriage "as a fortress for well-being and salvation". While it is a fortress that protects in times of trouble, it can also stand wide open to allow any to enter in times of peace.

And so while I feel completely at home with Marielle and Shoghi, no matter where we live, and I also feel at home within the Baha'i community, as well comfortable in any place we happen to live, these are still questions and thoughts well worth pondering. I look forward to asking Shoghi about it when I get home later today.

I also wonder how much longer it will be before my heart realizes that the west coast is now home, and makes the trek here from the prairies, even though a piece of me will always be there, too.