Homing devices
By Dr. Andy and Renie Bowman
Coffeetimecolumn.com
andybowman839@gmail.com
Have you ever had the chance to watch quail in the evening when the sun is setting? Those tiny birds make it very clear; they want home. And home to them usually means gathering in a circle of other quail, with their heads toward each other and tails outward.
If you sit quietly nearby their chosen roosting place as the day closes down, you can hear a rustling in the air, as quail after quail arrives and settles in for the night. Might be on the ground in a protective circle of family and friends, or sometimes on the perfect branch in a tree with all the other quail in their covey. Guess we could call it ‘going home for the night.’
Finding security in a sense of community and belonging.
Quail and most people are a lot alike, they both have 'something within’ that draws them to their special place, that place that they call home.
Sure, we humans love to vacation, to go someplace else for a while and enjoy the uniqueness of something different. To get away from stress, or the humdrum of our daily life.
But most of us, after being away from home for a period of time, finally find ourselves feeling an itch, a longing, a certain need that draws us back to the place we call home. Even if it’s filled with tension, stress, loneliness or worry, home still has a certain drawing element to it. It's true, we may not like everything or everyone who represents home to us.
But still, it is home.
Our family and our jobs are a huge part of “home” to us. In fact, those two factors are usually the main reason we find ourselves counting the weeks until our next scheduled get-away. If we don’t enjoy those two important parts of home, then it’s likely we will be one of those people who walk in their living room, set down their suitcase, and grab their calendar.
For them, scheduling the next vacation is just part and parcel of arriving home.
But still, most people find that by the end of their time away from friends, family, job, and house, they are ready to touch base with home again. At least for a little while. Home gives a feeling of normalcy and foundation in our lives.
Sure, there are some of you that disagree with me on this. You are more like one of those fiercely independent, free-flying loner birds like an owl or an eagle. You prefer to sail around in the sky alone, not needing a covey, or a flock of family and friends around them. Home to you means opening the door to a stateroom or your current hotel room, and feeling an immense sense of satisfaction with the freedom in your life.
But not many of us are true loners. Most of us have a quail’s homing device in us, that causes a sense of need to touch base with familiar people and places in our life.
Quail, or eagle? Either way, just enjoy living.