At Home in the World: Sounds and Symmetries of Belonging

"To be at home in the world" is an expression of attachment observed in all living beings and the specifically human need to create a world of shared meaningful experiences. Differing from the older forms of homesickness, homelessness in our times is not just about loss of a particular place, but can be more diffuse, and many don't know why they feel uprooted, unconnected, or incapable of deeper attachment to anybody or anything. In contemporary culture, home has been re-evaluated within an individual and collective context. It has been understood in both its psychological and sociological dimensions as a continuous process of encounter, assessment, and evaluation of the old in terms of the new. The theme can appear in the analytic space, as with dreams and transference, and a working through of its meaning can further a process-oriented way of finding home that protects the local, familiar, and traditional within the context of psychological and cultural innovation.