Now, home is an interesting concept for those of us who have lived in different places throughout their lives, and for a while I thought, and told people, that I really had no home.
But I do. It's just not where I looked. It's not one physical place. It's several physical locations, it's people, it's feelings, but they all make up one home.
Why do I write about it today? Because I am scheduled to move on to the next place tomorrow, and I realized that this place in Valencia has become home. It is hard to leave. My Italian friends just came back from Italy, and my Venecuelian and Spanish friends are still here, and I will really, really miss them. I will miss having a jog on the beach and a dip in the ocean - even in winter it makes you feel euphoric. I will miss the nature reserve and the Oceanografic. Gizmo and Chin Chin have their final resting place here in the Dewesa and the sea. I used to spend many holidays as a child only 60 miles south of here. I will miss the local cats that come by every morning, but thankfully they will have someone who'll take care of them here. I will miss the friendliness of the people. The last half year was one of the most joyful and peaceful in my life.
But I'm also going towards home. People and places that are also part of my home. I'll be close to my parents, the town where I went to Uni, my old friends in Mecka, some of whom are still in the area, my old classmates, close to the lake I learned scuba diving in, close to the ski resorts I went skiing in, while doing the job that has always been home for me and is the first part of my mission, and still occasionally travelling to the other locations, events and people that have become home to me recently and in the past. Miami and the US in general is also one of these places.
All these places, people, and activities lead me back to a place inside that I call home and call me forth to contribute and give back and pay forward the joy, peace, and love I received.
It is a place of gratefulness.