How to Make Yourself at Home Almost Anywhere

Have you ever stayed with friends or family who told you to “make yourself at home?” But when you head to the kitchen to help yourself to a glass of water, you have to search through their kitchen cabinets to find a cup. The cabinet doors hide the contents, so it’s a mystery what you might find behind each door. To you it makes sense to keep the cups close to the dishwasher, but your friend likes iced drinks, so he stores them next to the freezer. Your little thought is a judgment that bogs you down. And right away you realize, you’re not at home.

But what if you could feel at home here, there and everywhere? Not everyone has a good feeling about the concept of a home. But imagine your ideal home filled with all the comforts you desire and the people you love. What if you could have that sense of happiness and peace wherever you were?

If you own a motorhome, there’s a good chance you consider it home when your on the road. It’s a scaled-down version of the comforts you keep in your home. It tells a story about your priorities for everyday life:

• organic oranges,
• Blendtec Classic Blender,
• MacBook Air,
• Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap,
• goose down feather pillows,
• a wool blanket,
• and a book by Neale Donald Walsch.

If you’ve ever taken a long flight, your carry on bag is a small collection of some of your comforts from home: a jacket with lots of pockets, a stainless steel travel mug for tea, a book, your Android phone, and a few other treasures.

By bringing along some of your favorite things, you can make yourself feel at home wherever you are. You are a spiritual nomad, but few people experience the benefits of this in the physical world. Van-dwellers are at home wherever they’re parked, and when they’re going 70 mph on an Interstate Highway. People who live in houseboats or yachts are at home on the water. If you choose to see it, they expand the mainstream definition of what it means to be at home.

Van-dwelling RVers change up their back yard every time their wheels roll. And perhaps they’re moving closer to the true meaning of home. It’s less about the stuff in your home and more about the thoughts in your mind.

Sabrina and Jimmy Horel own less to see more. They live on the road in their hippie bus with dogs Austin and Seepy. See more of their lifestyle photos on Instagram/wandxrbus.

I’ve lived in so many places in my lifetime that I’ve lost count of how many homes, apartments, condominiums, townhomes, dorm rooms, and other domiciles I’ve occupied. For a while my husband and I owned a 5000 SF home in a Portland Street of Dreams neighborhood. Our home and family were featured on HGTV. When we bought that home it was a dream come true and when we sold it, I was equally happy because I was ready to downsize to something smaller.

I’ve lived in a number of states in the United States, as well as in France and China. And, as of a few years ago, I’ve added a Pleasure-Way motorhome to the mix. When people ask me where home is, it’s whereabouts I am now. It’s not some faraway place from the past.

You can experience the full joy of being at home in the present moment. If you want to make yourself at home almost anywhere, you’ve got to do some remodeling. It’s not about rearranging furniture, it’s all about rearranging your thoughts.

At first, it might feel like a sacrifice to let go of things you collected. But once you start letting go and lightening up, the benefits you experience fuel your momentum.

You can learn to make yourself feel at home almost anywhere. The lesson begins by teaching yourself to rely on the joy of your thoughts rather than the comforts of your environment. The practice continues day after day, like Groundhog Day, until you awaken to the fact that regardless of where you go, you can not escape your Heavenly home. It’s all there is. And everyone else is right here with you.

Feeling at home is a state of mind. It’s a mental place where you know you’re safe from the battleground, that place where you compete to survive. The battleground, as described in A Course in Miracles, is the world. It’s a place where no matter what you have, you always want to experience something new or different. You desire an improvement on the old or something entirely new. It’s just the way life is in this world of time and space.

It’s quite possible to make yourself at home anywhere when you awaken to the awareness that your home is out of this world. Wherever we go, God is. He’s always there whispering directions so you can find your way home. Every bird sings of it.

You see what you believe and you believe what you see. It’s a paradox you can’t escape until you awaken. Your narrow perspective can begin to expand only by releasing your judgment of others who see things differently.

If you decide that you are not at home here or there, then you are right. And if you decide that you can make yourself at home anywhere, then you are right because that is your belief.

When you have a belief engraved in your thoughts, then anything that supports that belief is right to you, regardless of whether or not others agree.

Are you aware that home is everywhere? Whether you’re  walking through a city or forest, you are at home.

Like animals, we’ve learned to gather resources to help us feel more comfortable. Birds build nests in trees, while moles, squirrels and rabbits burrow underground. Birds, butterflies, fish, and reindeer migrate. And people do too! Whether you’re in a forest or a city, you can make yourself at home.

You can build your nest almost anywhere in the world. It might be in a motorhome, or it might be a house filled with a big collection of motors such as your dishwasher, washing machine, blender, vacuum, garage door opener, and so on. Regardless of what you choose, remember that even the most fortified homes are vulnerable in this world.

You can insure a home for reimbursement for damages, but the only way to ensure that your home is damage-proof is to move into your true home which is not of this world. When you awaken to this truth, you will rise above the earthly theatre knowing that what you stage as your home today, can and will change. Everything in this world is designed to change with time.

Sell furniture. Quit job. Take road trip.

I’m in Silicon Valley and no joke, as I was writing this, my home shook for several seconds from a small nearby earthquake.

In her international bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo recommends going through all your possessions one by one asking one simple question, “Does this spark joy?” If it does, then you can feel good about keeping it. If it doesn’t, let it go.

Recognize that all your special collections in your earthly home both lift you up and weigh you down. This is normal for life in this world of opposites. The more you lighten your load, the easier it becomes to make yourself at home anywhere.

Close your eyes and awaken your mind to your eternal home in a castle beyond your wildest expectations. Through your thoughts you can build your dream home. What you think about you will see. And you can do this anywhere!

EYES OPEN • MIND OPEN street art in Los Angeles

If you’d like to join my husband and me on some of our RV adventures in our Class B Pleasure-Way Lexor, please SUBSCRIBE NOW to our channel at YouTube/Techie and Writer.

Techie and Writer Video Productions