Connecting Routes: Where We Call Home
TUVALU - CANADA - SENEGAL
Here’s to “Connecting Routes” ~ a space to spotlight a common theme in my travels that offers snapshots from one place to another, like the tantalizing tease of a tasting menu or a shortlist of your next dream vacation!
Top Three Places for Where We Call Home
Those of us who travel a ton tend to think of the concept of where (and what, or maybe even who) we call home. The notion of course, is not limited to the land nor layout of our lodgings, though often there’s loyalty associated with location. Sometimes, it’s steeped so solidly that the allegiance to a homeland trumps practicality, personal preferences and politics. In working with Afghans in Pakistani refugee camps and displaced Congolese in Uganda, I’ve heard of the longing for their land - where “no air is fresher” and “no water is as sweet”. The bond with those bricks and buildings often evokes intense emotions and actions as people go to depths to preserve their presence from where their families and ancestors hailed. The indigenous communities worldwide continue to remind us of this timeless tenet.
There are also strong sentiments for those of us who are visitors. When the possibility or plausibility of holding on to our homes has evaporated, adapting to contemporary contexts and cultures is critical. In these spaces, the connection may be less so around commonality of where we’ve come from, but more so, of where we find ourselves in the present. Instead, its about the diverse mosaic which offers a platform for people of the diaspora to find connection in spite of differences.
Whether in physical location or mental models where we find and feel our tribe, home is a place where the ABCs of acceptance, bonding and community are key parameters to our personal sense of security and perhaps even, a sanctuary for satiation and serenity for ourselves and others. After all, isn’t that where we’d all like to snuggle into at the end of a demanding day?
Whether its the love of one’s land, the openness to the other or, an extension of hospitality and solidarity for strangers to also feel at home, these countries showcase requisite building blocks for where we linger, live, laugh, let in and let go. Perhaps by exploring the ways our world creates and holds space for us to be and become, we can better appreciate our homes and the holistic search for returning Home.
Tuvalu: From a teeny tiny island country that’s at high risk of sinking, the inhabitants of Tuvalu seem determined to live out their days within this precarious paradise. Regardless of the routine flooding that affects farmland and potable water, most folks ferociously favour their family land. At the UN conference in 2014, Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said, “[n]o national leader in the history of humanity has ever faced this question: Will we survive or will we disappear under the sea?” - so I asked the boatman why he’d never want to leave Tuvalu knowing of this predicament. His answer, “this place gives me so much peace”, is a hope many of us have for where we call home, nuh?
Canada: With stability and security also comes the possibility of living life in syndicate. Indeed, photocopying our days can create cravings for seeking adventures elsewhere. Though, the fundamental freedoms and functions of a nation that honours pluralistic perspectives can’t be underestimated as prime real estate. Oh Canada, the kaleidoscopic lens this land offers makes a mosaic even amidst the mundane.
Senegal: Of the many countries I’ve visited, this place has intrigued me deeply. The teraanga which authentically invites, hosts and huddles around the stranger transforms relationships into One Love so quickly, that I wonder what it’d be like to actually live there. Senegalese seem to have a strong sense of self, solidarity, social cohesion, sisterhood/brotherhood, spunk and spirituality - not to mention spectacular sights and soirees. Being at home here would demand real living and a deeper dive into what coming Home can actually mean …
May our homes let us feel rejuvenated, realigned and ready to rumble (again and again),