The real meaning of home
28/09/2012 at 3:02 pm | Posted in Happiness, Meditation, Nature, Wellbeing | 12 CommentsTags: Guidance, happiness, healing, inspiration, Intuition, meditation, nature, pre-history, Spirituality, wellbeing
In our distant nomadic past, home was where we settled for the night: it was shelter, a place we lay down – a place of rest. Recently, on the West Coast of Scotland, I came across a perfect example of home at its simplest. This stone outcrop at Sand provided shelter for our ancestors nearly 10,000 years ago. It was their bedroom, and also their kitchen: there is evidence that they collected limpets from the sea shore and boiled them up in water before eating them.
My daughter led me up and onto the roof of the shelter. “There’s a place I’ve got to show you,” she said. “You’re going to love it; it’s really special.” And she was right. On the heather-clad roof there were several broad stones: slabs of natural paving. One, in particular, was a perfect meditation seat. It was easy to sit there, gaze out to sea and simply let your thoughts drift into that in-between place – the other realm.
When I did so, I found myself talking to the inhabitants of that time. We weren’t using words, exactly, but we were communicating. To my surprise, I found they were admiring my build: the fact that compared with them I looked immensely well fed. I was aware of their lightness and slimness and superb fitness, and found myself wishing that I exercised more.
Self-acceptance
They were surprised at my lack of self-acceptance on this matter. They reminded me of the goodness of Mother Earth, or the Mother as they called her. She provided what we needed, and it made no sense to disparage her gifts. Abundance was a blessing. Each of us was a creation of the Mother. Each of us was divine. How could we criticise ourselves in that context? Criticism was utterly meaningless.
I actually had the sense they were laughing at me, as if I were a child who didn’t quite understand. And yet there was also respect. It was as if they saw wisdom in me, as I saw wisdom in them. And the wisdom wasn’t individual wisdom; it was collective. We all shared knowledge… and this knowledge was infinite awareness.
And then I understood the true meaning of home. It is unconditional love, and it is acceptance. When you are at home – truly at home – you are loved, you are accepted. During the many times we find ourselves on our own, we can still feel unconditional love and acceptance towards ourselves. And when we are with others – however distant in terms of culture, or the passage of time – we can feel that exact same connection. As I did on that rock.
Down below, a car horn was sounding. I was being summoned back to the 21st Century. I clambered down the heather slopes, sea breeze in my hair, aware that the bliss I was feeling is our natural birthright.
It’s your birthright; it truly is.
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Suzanne Askham 
Suzanne, this is an amazing post, a message that needs to be heard, that home is our giving and receiving of unconditional love. Beautiful. Post this far and wide!
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Comment by Brendan Mooney— 28/09/2012 #
Thank you so much Brendan. You can see that it was a heartfelt experience, and I will follow your advice re posting it!
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Comment by Suzanne Askham— 28/09/2012 #
A lovely experience, which recalls our work this year which included views across an ancient savannah from a neolithic cave. This time- dialogue, fantastic!
Some ancient places do seem to carry an imprint from the distant past and explains why people love to reconnect with old wisdom and connect with natures’ inclusive balance -far away from modern distractions.
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Comment by Trev— 28/09/2012 #
Thank you Trev. You perfectly understand the joy and beauty of this kind of connection with the distant past. I would love to know more about your work from the neolithic cave.
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Comment by Suzanne Askham— 28/09/2012 #
beautiful wisdom & thoughts Suzanne : )
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Comment by Jonathan D. Binns— 28/09/2012 #
Thank you Jonathan; I’m so glad you appreciated the post.
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Comment by Suzanne Askham— 28/09/2012 #
Beautiful post. 🙂
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Comment by Melissa Naiad— 28/09/2012 #
Thank you so much Melissa. I’m just off to visit your blog!
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Comment by Suzanne Askham— 28/09/2012 #
Suzanne sorry for this delay but I have been awestruck by this beautiful Post and have been reading and rereading it. I could and still can, feel this wonderful experience you had with the past and sounds like in such a beautiful place too. I used your experience yesterday on the shore of the West of Ireland. I felt connected to the past and to all who had been there in years gone by. It was so peaceful, calm and still with not a ripple on the sea and not another living person around (apart from my beloved John and Sheba) and I think perhaps for the first time, I felt really at home in this beautiful, spellbinding place. My heart was overflowing with love and peace which I hope I carried home with me. Thank you Suzanne for this wonderful Post, for sharing it with us and giving me this new found love and appreciation for all our blessings and our beautiful HOME where we can give and receive unconditional love. God Bless you.
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Comment by Barbara Day— 08/10/2012 #
Barbara, I am so grateful for your comment, which filled me with delight. I absolutely love the fact that you had a similar experience in Ireland. That sense of peace and love you describe is truly our birthright. With love, Suzanne x x x
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Comment by Suzanne Askham— 15/10/2012 #
Thank you Suzanne for your lovely comments. With love xxxx
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Comment by Barbara Day— 16/10/2012 #
[…] on my right side, between the stones, laughing, I can see women, very like those I have seen before. Maybe they are the same. Natural, lean and bare-limbed, they are laughing at me, though not […]
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