The word ‘home’ has recently started dancing in my head, it all started when the boundary between ‘home’ and ‘work’ becomes very blurry, rendered to be one.
Creating a homely environment is always a joyful project, it can be hard work for some of us, yet it is undoubtfully a satisfying experience when we put our mind and body to work together, and to complete the job from start to finish. It was exactly the storytelling journey where the project of Mutrend Lab started from Day –20 back in October 2017. After that, openly inviting people to the home we created from love is a matter of trust, where attractions are the very first point of communication, then it possibly makes the leap to weave of connections.
The memories of ‘feeling at home’ captured from our senses are the interesting pathways to reach our inner selves. A nostalgic feeling brought to me by a song writer and singer Natalie Holmes who described a contrasting and significant moment of her life entering a daunting ‘place’. Perhaps it is a non-physical place called home when she wrote the song ‘Child’ during her 2nd year of university. I speculate that the meaning of that place had already become a beautiful blur also.
‘Home’ connects our feelings, one of our young active learners of the Mu Collective described our Lab as ‘home’, my enchanted emotions of that particular moment brought by her genuine smile and happiness forever imprinted in my memory. There was also a remark took me by surprise from a distant phone call between me and a community advocate and social entrepreneur based in a Sri Lanka village, before we sharing each other’s stories, he ignited the conversation by describing Mutrend Lab as “feeling like home” from reading about us online. You may have guessed, it was a really good enduring phone conversation that day.
There is also a great meaning of openness around feelings towards “home”. A Southampton resident I met at a local pub described his life and connections to the sea as if he was able to peacefully see through his entire life journey. He said he knew the sea is where he belongs ever since his parents brought him to the Solent sea when he was 13. Now a retired and history enthusiast spends majority of his time year on year lecturing on ships and travelling across oceans and continents. In his own words, “in the ocean, where life belongs, it is where home is”.
Last Thursday (5th April 2018), there was Mutrend Lab’s 1st “Where is home?” themed social gathering taking place among the community. The topic “where home is” was a rather creative and fun making process. Sharing personal experiences through drawing, writing and conversations connected us through memories-in-motion from both distant and present time. I believe together we created a magical potion of happiness, and irresistibly I am drawn to this beautiful feeling and memories that the people made the place where I belong.
All in all, people we call them family, friends and community who help us to create a tangible picture of home, and to build a deepening understanding around the meaning of “home” on this ever-evolving learning journey. Our growing community will continue to weave the connections among us and create future possibilities for ourselves and others.
