Life’s a voyage that’s homeward bound…
Was Herman Melville thinking about us eventually going back to God when he said this? (now, for many of us, perhaps a return to the Oneness, Gaia, Buddha?)
For me, his words speak to the ‘self’ and my work as a jobbing psychotherapist. Each session, trying to help my clients take a tiny step closer to ‘home’. If home is our true inner most self, then how many of us can say we live there, or even visit very often? More familiar perhaps is the ‘role’ (roles — some of us have quite a few!) we are in, maybe we could call that a ‘false self’, doing and being what we (or perhaps, more accurately, our culture, or family of origin) think we should do or be. The repercussions* of feeling disconnected from ‘home’ only get worse if you keep stepping through your life without noticing this distance. Of course, it is never as clear cut as ‘true self’ versus ‘false self’, but such simplicity can be a helpful place to start. (*anxiety, anxiety, anxiety … and depression.. and other things… like sadness).
Try asking yourself, to what degree do you feel at peace and in comfort within yourself?
This has nothing to do with (perceived) success in life or how much ‘stuff’ you have acquired so far. Nor is it to do with how much adversity and pain you have suffered (or maybe are currently suffering). It is really to do with how well you feel you can manage with what life throws at you and at the same time stay at peace with yourself. Of course, basic needs have to be met or they become an all encompassing priority (a roof over your head, food in your belly, activity that makes life meaningful for you — and all these things are being challenged by the pandemic and painfully felt by many)and we need others in our lives to connect with and to recognise and affirm our ‘true self’.
Having the capacity to connect to the true, inner-most sense of you …. at least some of the time; having a sense of ‘home’ that feels safe, secure and authentic is the key for a good life I think.
In my own, small way, finally writing (and posting!… I have scribblings everywhere but none of it shared — until now) this teeny story, is a step back inwards to my own inner ‘home’. A deep seated wish to be creative that has always been within me (there was moment when I nearly gave my heart to acting) and in many ways is fulfilled by my job, which I love. But hitting 60 has suddenly made time feel very finite, in a way that it has never really before.
I intend to post some thoughts and ideas that have been brewing for a while ; many loosely connected with this idea of getting back to ‘home’ — based on my work as a therapist.
N.B I will not be referring to any personal material of anyone I see or have seen.
*If this resonates therapy can help*
