Where the Heart Is

I saw the movie based on this book ages ago. Which is a good thing because it meant I didn't have the annoying picturing the characters as the actors who portrayed them instead of how my imagination portrays them. I am not sure which is worse, reading the book first and then having the movie fall flat because it missed what I considered important parts and portrayed characters differently (and thus less well) than my imagination, or watching the movie first and having the book be colored by other people's impressions.

I really really liked this book. It made me think about home and loving and being alone and ...

The concept of home has been big with me for a while. I haven't felt like I have had a true home for a while now. A few places have made me feel safe but I am not sure, in retrospect that they were home. But all of the work I have poured into my new place, all the struggles it took to get here, all of the obstacles (real and imaginary) that were overcome, the sense of belonging and relaxation I feel everytime I walk through the door - this, finally, is home. I don't know what makes it so, I only know that it is.

Loving is also something I think about a lot. People I love and have loved and thought that I loved. People who have taught me about love - loving others, loving myself. Things that I love, things that I love to do. There are not always words to express why something or someone is important to me, but I am starting to think it might be enough to just know that it is. I love different people for different reasons, in different ways, to the best of my ability.

The concept of being alone versus being lonely. And thinking you are alone and waking up one day and realizing that being physically by yourself is not the same as being alone. That there are people in your life who have had similar experiences, or who are present in your life despite dis-similare experiences. That simply opening your eyes and reaching out and being open to the world makes a huge difference. I have been meeting people slowly but steadily over the last little while, all people I might have passed by in the past, all people who bring a new perspective, a new challenge, a new possibility.