HRI Blog

Home is where you are free to be your true self. It is where or with whom you feel comfortable to express your identity, share thoughts and feelings, or just be silly. It can be in the comfort of your own house, with your closest friends, or outside experiencing the beauty of nature. You may even feel most at home and connected to who you are in the act of helping others and creating a safe and strong community.

Go to the places where you can be your authentic self and surround yourself with people who embrace you for who you are as much as possible.

Home is where you feel safe, secure, and loved. It can be the sense of belonging and community you feel at church, at a friend’s house, in your neighborhood, or when you gather with your family. It can be a quiet place where you feel at peace with your thoughts or the comfort of your bed. Home can be where you grew up or the new life that you have built for yourself. The places or people that evoke a feeling of safety, comfort, and love look different for each person but have a common purpose of creating happiness and building relationships.

Home is spending time with the people we love and who love us in return. Home may be spending the holidays with your family, a warm hug from your partner, laughing and playing with your kids, or a phone call to catch up with a close friend. Regardless of where we are physically, if we surround ourselves with people who understand, support, and care for us, we can experience a feeling of peace, security, and belonging.

The word “home” has a different meaning to each person, made up of their unique values, beliefs, and experiences. Home may be a literal place, where you formed your happiest, most cherished memories or somewhere that evokes a feeling of comfort and security. It may be a sense of warmth and joy generated by spending time with your loved ones or a place where you can be true to who you are. Regardless of what home means to you, having a place or people to call home is an important part of feeling safe, experiencing love and connection, and living a healthy and happy life.

Check out this video about what “home” means to different people of all ages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWt76WqRCVs

Stay tuned throughout the rest of this week as HRI explores the different meanings of home and asks community members what home means to them!

One of the simplest, yet most impactful ways to reduce stress during the holidays is to slow down and breathe. Take a step back from your responsibilities and to-do lists to practice gratitude and experience the warmth and joy of the holiday season.

A great way to reduce stress during the holidays is to reach out to your support system and ask for help. Whether you need someone to co-host a holiday event or to simply be a listening ear, friends and family members can provide much needed support and reassurance.

A significant contributor to holiday stress can be the financial burden of buying presents, wrapping paper, decorations, and ingredients for holiday meals and treats. A great way to avoid the added financial stress of the holidays is to set a spending budget and stick to it. Limit how much money you spend on each person’s presents, reuse decorations from past years, avoid buying extra presents you didn’t plan for, and look up recipes for delicious, yet cost-effective holiday meals.

Recognizing and respecting your limits plays a significant role in reducing stress during the holidays, which often demand a lot of your time and energy. Think of what is most important to you and your family and focus on those aspects of the holidays, while letting go of smaller, less important things. Know that it is ok to do less, and enjoy the moments of warmth and togetherness as a family.