"There is an eternal landscape, a geography of the soul; we search for its outline all our lives".
Josephine Hart
Today I head home for a few days. For an Irish person the sense of connection with Ireland often remains strong, no matter how content they may be in another country. "Going home" evokes thoughts of crossing a familiar threshold, being greeted by friends on familiar ground and repeating well-worn rituals.
However, the word "home" in itself can bring up all sorts of emotions and thoughts. In it memory and imagination are intertwined. It has a crucial role in the construction of our identity and our sense of self. Elements of the self, both internally as we present it to ourselves and externally as we present it to the world, are continually in dialogue with some entities, one of which is the place in which we live. For a lot of people in Geneva, who have moved away from their original home and the community of family and friends who were there, this can give rise to difficulties in defining exactly who they are. There is an ongoing dialogue between what is internally contructed and what is externally imposed.
Often related to this is the sense of belonging which the word "home" calls to mind. It moves beyond our actual experience of our place of origin to a need for continuity and connection with others. Deep down, all of us wish for something to call home, a place to relax without pretension, a place to share a bowl of food at the end of a hard days work. Any reflections on coming home also touch on the sense of being "away" and how acutely we experience that within ourselves. Where is our sense of belonging ultimately coming from?
