Home as a State of Mind

June 2023

Western Pennsylvania, USA

A series of synchronicities.  I have met another one of my kindred nomad spirits; this time in an unlikely place; a tiny river town in Western Pennsylvania, where nature rules and the humans are mere visitors.  

I am here to tend to a riverfront cabin that I purchased from my ex-husband three years ago when it was quite literally falling off the embankment into the river below.  Well, okay, at least the deck had fallen down, BUT in fairness, the river was going to win this fight, and as we all know, eventually, someday, inevitably, nature always wins.  

So on this day, three years later, after infrequent but intense working visits to the property, and after a new deck and new roof, along with thousands of hours of labor, for the FIRST time, the cabin is feeling less like a nature-reclaimed structure, and more like, well, a “HOME”.  

Hmmm.  Home for a Nomad is a strange and uncomfortable word.  I don’t actually live here.  I don’t really live anywhere, and philosophically I have declared that HOME is a state of mind; a place where you belong and feel safe and welcomed.  A place that travels with you and is deeply rooted in one's sense of self.  

So when I tell people I am working on my River house, they often act like, “Ah ha.  You DO have a house.”  Well, yes but no.  I am uncomfortable with the answer. To call this structure my home feels like a lie.  It feels like the unauthentic “dumbed down” version of the truth that is SO far from the truth.  

To understand me, or to understand the Nomad-spirit, it is critically important to understand the Nomad’s journey away from the familiar, away from the routine, away from attachment to things, or to the attachment of a static place one calls HOME.  

This is where my kindred-spirit enters.  Tina has arrived to this little river town to house-sit and tend to the cabin as part of her Nomad journey.  This is the first time I have offered up the cabin as a rest-stop/house-sit for Nomads.  (It frankly wasn’t safe when the deck was falling off).  Tina’s version of Nomading started about 10 years ago, primarily as a Van-lifer, and recently adding in pet and house-sitting.  

Watching her arrive to her new home (for the moment) was a lot like watching a movie of my own life.  I watched as she took great ease in unpacking and orienting herself with the house.  She had little concern with the details of her new adventure.  You could tell she was accustomed to figuring things out when needed.  I asked her if she wanted me to give her a tour around town, or if she preferred to discover things on her own.  She smiled, and said, “YES, I prefer that.”  Of course, my kindred Nomad.  Too much knowledge takes away the surprise and delight. Life is all about “surprise and delight.”

Our conversation was brief but immediately on the topics of being a Nomad; how being a Nomad and in constantly changing new situations and places feels a lot like being a child again; FULL of wonder.  

As she unpacked her bags, and some of her books, we found we owned or had owned many of the same books.  She unpacked her groceries. Again, oddly just like my mine; which for those of you who know my diet, know that I do not eat the Standard American Diet (aka SAD).  We swapped stories about work and relationships, about leaving financial

security and giving up possessions in order to have this lifestyle.  Our life paths were so similar it was almost comical.  In fact, ridiculous.  Where are the hidden cameras?

We laughed and then I disappeared to finish some final tasks so I could leave in the morning.  

Ah, tomorrow morning.  I grow excited as I think of tomorrow’s road trip, and the adventures soon to come in Europe and beyond.  I am excited to SOON be immersed in new cultures, to back-pack on new trails, and to explore new cities (with surprise and delight), and to placing my head on countless new pillows in hundreds of new places.  All of which I will gleefully declare as HOME.

Farewell river cabin.  Take care of my kindred spirit Nomad.  Until we meet again.

And for my many other Nomad friends, in spirit or in practice (or both), may you find yourself in a HOME tonight, whether on the road, out at sea, or in a tent on a distant trail.  May you feel the sense of freedom, the lure of the unknown, and the knowing that you are where you belong, and are safe and welcomed.  May you know that you are part of a tribe that sleeps well tonight, and truly knows the state of mind that is HOME.

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If you are a Nomad who would like to spend some time caring for a river cabin, please contact me for available dates.

Note: The name of the Nomad above has been changed to protect her privacy.