Home is within By Monika Kathuria

Banyan tree Sector 17 Chandigarh 

Home is a symbol of peace and comfort. We struggle to look for peace and comfort in places, in things and in people.  We invent an image around us that defines us, as to who we are.  Every action we take and every move we make is governed by that self image we want to project to the world. Our expectation of how people should perceive us is very important to us.  It is that decides, if consider ourselves to be happy or sad, successful or not,  famous or infamous.
However, our personality actually is the product of our mental conditioning as done by our environment and society. We get carried away by the assumptions and presumptions and believe them to be true. Layers and veils of societal expectations and pressure hides beneath, the personality we are! We ourselves do not realize who we are.
Many people find it difficult to answer to the question "who am I?" Beyond the name,  designation, profession and role (mother, father, etc.), it becomes difficult to identify oneself with.
What is my "authentic self"?  This is something which most people on the planet do not even think about.
When I came across this term in Robin Sharma's book, The Secret Letters which I am re-reading after about 4 years, I found myself contemplating on it.
As I contemplated on "authentic self", various thoughts crossed my mind.  If being a woman, teacher and mother is my identity then how is it different from the millions of other people on earth?  Then how am I unique or even authentic? To live an authentic life requires a lot of courage.  Courage to accept our fears and our weaknesses, to explore our talents, dreams and desires. To accept failure and dejection.  To be comfortable with who we are.   To try to manifest our goals to reality.  Yet, the most important part is to be honest only for ourselves and not to validate the projected self-image. In living an authentic life we give power to our soul to grow.  We accept our weaknesses, transform them and evolve.
It brings out the fact that life is all about "the journey of  becoming!" It is not about reaching a destination or achieving milestones. It is about shedding the veils and letting go of what we are not. The comfort of home is thus not in places, people or things it is in becoming who we are supposed to be....
The home is within!