Home – a place to hang your hat or store your treasures. The concept of “home” is more real for some than for others. Some people move around the country so often that “home” become a dizzy blur between state lines and changes of address while others spend their entire lives within the same zip code. And despite being a transient or homebody, every person is subject to feeling lost and “far from home,” especially when facing chronic illness.
This week in practice, I’ve been reminded through the experiences of my patients of how much healing can feel like coming home. “I feel like myself again,” is a phrase I often hear when the scales of mind, body and spirit tip back into balance and patients become empowered with the understanding of how they arrived to their own healing. The arrival home begins with the awareness of being lost in the first place. Only in knowing that we are disconnected from our “most well self” can we actually find our way back there once again. As a practitioner, I see my role as holding the flashlight and shedding some light on the path while patients navigate the sometimes uncomfortable yet transformative journey ahead. Whether you don a baseball cap or fedora, you’ll always have a place to hang your hat when you realize that “home” is you, and the treasures inside are immeasurable.
