Home Is Where the Soul Is

I like thinking of different parts of my home not as the architectural structures they are but more abstractly or even symbolically as avenues and pieces of my personality.

For example, think about your floors as the foundation of your shelter. Of course, this is quite literal in the sense of what floors serve to do for your home. But they’re the basis of your comfort and ground you to reality.

And your bed? It’s your personal charger, what keeps you going after a long day of being out and abuzz. So, you come rest in it at night to unwind, recharge, and get back to 100% for the next day.

Your kitchen also serves as a fuel station in the sense of quick energy when you need it right away. While your bed is your ultimate charger, that takes a third of the day to really charge up. But when you’re in need of a short burst of energy, the kitchen is your best bet.

And your closets and dressers and drawers in your bedroom? Those are essentially storage for your everyday armor. Sure, we wear clothes out and about because of decency, but at their core, aren’t clothes worn more for their warmth and protective properties than they are for concealing our naked bodies?

And your bathrooms are your cleansing stations in order to rid your body of all the bad things that could harm it.

Think about your windows now. They aren’t just structures for letting light in. They’re the path to your emotions. If you had none, you’d feel cooped up, restricted from freedom, devoid of happiness. With them, though, sunlight has a chance to enter your home and charge you with great emotions, give you positivity, and make you feel alive, as if the outside world is yours for the taking. And even on gloomy days, your windows still validate your pensive thoughts and melancholy disposition. It’s okay to have those sorts of days.

Overall, your home is so much more than a freestanding building for shelter. If you think of it as a larger, more important force in your life, you’re more likely to treat it well, keep it updated, and not neglect any part of it. Don’t just look at your house as where you go at the end of the day. Look at your house as an extension of yourself, because it is. Without it, you’d be a shell of who you are.