Home

"One day I know we'll find a place of hope," PJ Harvey declares in her song "A Place Called Home". Yes, I am slightly addicted to her music, and it may seem like I'm trying to shove it down people's throats, but it's an interesting take on the concept of home. The dictionary entry gives plenty of definitions for "home" including "a place where one lives, a residence," "a place, such as country or town where one was born or has lived for a long period," "an environment offering security and happiness," " a valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin", etc. All of these definitions are familiar, needless to say, but for someone like me who has lived a nomadic life for such a long time now, the notion of home has become quite fluid. In these "modern" times, people have become far more transient, I think a return of sorts to how things were before civilization. While this new state of transiency is less survival related than it was back in those days, there still is a link. Both prehistoric and modern people wandered around seeking new opportunities. Exploration, entertainment, education, occupation, etc. have offset survival as the primary motivator, and yet the hope for something better has remained. So, I think a place of hope is a great way to think of home as. For one, no one is homeless in that scenario.