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Today's
Meditation:
In a way, I
grew up without a home. Of course, home was where my
family was, but only my immediate family-- we moved pretty
constantly because my father was in the military, and we
never had any place that we as a family could call
home. So we made our homes wherever we were, and we
did our best to make them good homes. This dynamic
in my life has often made me wonder what life would have
been like if I had had a home, and whether or not I would
still continue to be moving rather often as an adult.
My
wife and I are pretty good at making wherever we happen to
be into a very nice home, a place that feels welcoming and
comfortable. We like to do our best to make the
places we live as homey as we can, so that we feel good
there and so that anyone visiting us can feel welcome and
at ease. The world of today, though, doesn't seem to
value the concept of homes-- people are moving around much
more than ever before, even within towns and cities, and
many young people have no idea what stability means.
I
know what home means to me, even if I grew up not having a
stable one-- at least I had a home. It's difficult
for me to imagine being a young person without a home,
though. It's hard for me to think about a kid who
doesn't have a bed of his or her own, a kitchen that he or
she can call their own, places that they're used to being
and where they feel comfortable and safe, at least.
These places don't have to be mansions, of course, but for
our children, homes are extremely important. It must
be very difficult indeed to grow up without that
stability, and then be expected as an adult to provide
stability for others-- or even to be consistent in their
own lives.
We
can't all just provide a home for homeless youth.
There are personal and social and cultural and legal
issues to consider when we think of who can live in our
own homes. But as a society we need to do better
with the ways that we're providing for our young
people. And as individuals, we need to be sure that
the home we're providing for our own families is
definitely that-- a home-- and not just a roof over the
heads of our family members. People need homes, and
it's up to us as responsible adults to provide just that
for the young people in our lives.
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