“Globalisation refers to an international community influenced by technological development and economic, political, and military interests. It is characterised by a worldwide increase in interdependence, interactivity, interconnectedness, and the virtually instantaneous exchange of information.”

The concept of globalisation has always intrigued me, nations coming together and working towards a goal and for a better life for everyone. There are so many concepts that closely relate to globalisation, a lot of which can allows us to understand how the world is working today, and how much globalisation has impacted the world today.

What I find even more interesting though, is the concept of ‘home’. Pico Iyer made a guest TED talk, and talked about this idea. He explained that he had live all over the world, was born in another, and so to explain where ‘home’ is for him, was very complicated. It’s definitely worth a watch if you havn’t already seen it.

Julie Beck wrote an article back in 2011, where she talks about where home is for her. She talks about where in the world she’s travelled and lived, and also talks about how hard it is to answer “Where is home for you?”. She points out that when she’s heading towards her old family home, she’ll say she’s going home, but when she’s going to her own house, she’ll say it too. The more I’ve read about it, I’ve realised the more in-depth, psychologically speaking, the question really is, because people will have their own definitions of home. So it’s very arbitrary.

It reminds me of the concept of ‘sonder’, which refers to the realisation that each person you see is living his or her own life, and it’s just as vivid and complex as your own, with their own collective group of friends and dreams. The reason it reminds me of this, is because you don’t really think about it, until it’s brought up. You don’t really think about how complicated the idea of where home is.

The well-known phrase “home is where the heart is”, I think is one of the better explanations to where home is. I think personally, to call somewhere a home; you have to have a deep psychological or emotional bond with the place. I don’t think you even have to be living there to be able to call somewhere home. You just know it, deep inside of you. Somewhere where you have a great feeling of bliss.

So where is home for me? Well, like I pointed out earlier, it’s hard to explain. The answer I would usually give people is my family house in The Shire. But personally, I think a better answer to that question would be an unusual one, my home is under the stars. No matter where I am, when I’m looking up at the stars at night and just laying on my back, no matter where I am, I always feel at home. Quite few people, when they look up at the stars, feel small, but I feel big. It’s hard to explain, and I don’t expect you to understand. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, who is probably the person I look up to the most (and arguably the most influential person for science of our time), made a beautiful speech about how he feels big when looking up at the stars.

I encourage you to try it next time you’re somewhere quiet. Just lay on your back, get really comfortable, and just look up at the stars and think about the universe. That’s when I feel at home.

Sources:

Julie Beck, JB 2011, ‘The Psychology of Home: Why Where You Live Means So Much’, The Atlantic, 30th December, Viewed 7th August, <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/12/the-psychology-of-home-why-where-you-live-means-so-much/249800/2/&gt;