FINDING A PLACE TO BELONG
The other day a friend told me that I am good at finding the right place for everything. Place where everything belongs. It got me thinking. It’s sort of job description; it’s also a goal, a purpose, if you will – to help someone find the right spot for their ‘beloved stuff’, to create a place you can call home. It is a grueling job, because our ‘stuff” needs time, space, management – and all of the above is diminishing every second. We work longer hours, have less time for family, friends, fun, and if you are a New Yorker – having enough space is an ultimate luxury for so very few. Still, those are all external challenges known to everyone, a popular topic of many conversations around the town and source of funny stories about ‘division of property’. What about the sense of belonging: our career, our place, the right partner, our entire life – where do we belong? We can not wait to get out of the only home we know, our parents can not wait for us to get out, so they can claim our room for their ‘stuff”, we live in the dorms, frat houses, we rent our first dump of an apartment, we fill it with some junk that proves to the world we know how to decorate, we claim our independence…. and still when holidays roll around we are counting minutes, while getting this indescribable feeling – I AM GOING HOME! I LOVE THIS FEELING!!!! I miss it, since my mom passed away, it’s physically painful to walk by a place of so many memories, the foundation that held us all together and gave us sense of belonging. It was filled with old furniture, framed family photos, little trinkets, it was loud with sounds of children and laughter, you could smell delicious homemade food right off the elevator – it had so much love…, enough love to run a nuclear power plant. I often wonder if I ever have a home like this on my own. It is not about the right space, it’s about that ultimate escape, where everything and everyone is at peace, you can let loose and let go, be yourself, love unconditionally and be loved for who you really are. Maybe, that is why I choose to do it for others, create an environment that will give you comfort, peace, serenity, but most of all that feeling – I belong here, this is my home. Believe me – it is an amazing feeling! I am thrilled to share it with everyone I know and ultimately with the universe.
Posted by Amazing Anna B