Much of the story of Moses is about leaving his homes. As a baby he was placed in a basket and floated down the River Nile, rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter. Thus, he grew up not in his parent’s home but the palace of the Pharaoh. Moses had to flee Egypt after smiting an Egyptian. He left his home and all that he knew and wound up in Midian, in the home of Jethro the Midianite priest. Then he left Midian to return to demand that Pharaoh let the Israelites go. And wandering in the desert for forty years surely was not a permanent home.

Some have said that “home is where the heart is.” While this piece of writing seems particularly apt this week, as I pack to move for the second time in two years, it was written initially several years ago. In studying with my hevruta partner about humility, we were talking about the need for balance. Even the rabbis saw the need generations ago. It reminded me of Bubble Rock perched on the cliff of South Bubble Mountain in Acadia National Park. I have climbed to the top any number of times in all kinds of weather. It is my touchstone. It is a pinnacle experience. I have tried to push the “accidental boulder” off the side of the mountain. Entire football teams have tried. A picture of this rock hangs in my office. It is about balance. It serves as a reminder to pause and remember that special place where the world feels whole and at one, another home for me, a place of mystical insight. How do you bring that experience back into your everyday world? I tried by bringing a piece of Cadillac granite that has been cut and polished into a heart. It sits in my home, by the side of my tub to remind me to breathe deeply and to search for balance.

Where do you feel at home? What role does home play in your life? What is the balance between security and stability and being in the right place at the right time?