Home is Our Sanctuary

“For our home to be a refuge it needs to be a place where love, compassion, and patience prevail.” – Allan Lokos

A bald eagles nest is a sight to behold. The eagle is the largest nesting bird. The male and female work together to build a nest ensured with strength and structure. The eagles make home to areas with a food source, usually fish or small water fowl. The home naturally needs to be close to this food source, as the parents go off to work for the day gathering a meal to feed eaglets they can't be traveling far with a mouth full. So since the food sources are on water ways, so is home. Here in the Gorge, the winds can endure easy 40-50 mph with even stronger gusts. Home needs to be built for strength so the structure can endure the elements of nature. Since the eagle is such a large bird with wing spans up to 6 feet, the nest can be very impressive. The nest is their sanctuary.

As humans, we have our natural instincts for home as well. We build and create with the idea for strength and structure in our own manner. We desire comfort and safety and make it personal to our taste so we "belong" in our homes. Home is where we create memories, raise our young, be productive, rest and heal. Home is our sanctuary where we reside. "Home is where our heart is".

The bear, yes we can not bypass the bear. The reside in a den for winter months to give birth and sleep deep through winter's harsh elements. The mama bear gives a home to her cubs for 2 winters before she hopes they are grown strong and smart enough to make it on their own. It can be more difficult for the male bear cub when it is time to be on his own. He needs to wander usually further as mama will boot him out of her territory. Finding his own first home can be difficult as he crosses into other male bears territory. It is not uncommon for a young male bear its first winter to wander more looking for the resting place and seen in middle of winter out and about.

Birds nest, bears den and some small woodland creatures burrow under ground or in a log. People may flock to the city or be raised in the suburbs to flea to the countryside in adult hood. Sometimes we wander our first years on our own until we discover the safe place we belong and make our nest. Whether we choose a townhouse in a big city, a cottage on the ocean side, or a cabin in the mountains, home reflects our personalities. As we build our homes, it becomes our sanctuary in the space we create that suits our own strengths of our individuality. “A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

While my heart is in the woods, it is not for many. Which ever life style we choose to reflect our needs and desires comes with its own challenges. The secret to a happy life is balance. Nothing in excess but enough of everything. Some wont find it in the woods, as I won't find it in the city. The peace, the beauty, the silence among the trees and mountains. At times, I can relate to the bear, finding myself a little more hibernated by the warmth of a fire as the snow covers the ground.

“A house is made of brick and mortar, but home is made by the people who live there.” – M.K. Soni