Home Is Where The Heart Is

Home Is Where The Heart Is

I moved from California to Israel at age 18 and returned at age 29. Twenty years later I continue to discover new insights and impressions of my experiences.

In Israel I lived in new immigrant center, graduated University in Nursing and Midwifery, served in the Israeli army, and worked in a large city. All of these milestones created an indelible affect on me.

Upon returning to California, there existed a sense of trying to belong and reconnect to the idea of living in the land of America. Struggling with this for years, I tried to ignore the sense that I now felt somewhat foreign in both countries by focusing on the personal enrichments I gained living abroad.

But this kind of thinking undermined my sense of security. I’ve now come to realize that my sense of belonging is connected to the people I live and interact with in all aspects of my life.

I believe that if we focus on the relationships close to us and beyond; from those individuals we live with to the communities across the border, the issues of conflict over land and who belongs where will more likely fall into place in a peaceful way.

We are all inherently connected to each other by being inhabitants of the same land: Earth. Where we live is only part of the puzzle that creates our identity. Ultimately the relationships and bonds we create define our home.