If you were given the choice: would you rather be called by your name or by a number?
In the olden days, people’s homes weren’t just places with addresses such as 204 Main Street. Buildings had names. They were named after their owners, functions or landscape features, legends and local history: The Captain’s House, Rosewood Cottage, The Old Mill House. Many houses were renamed over time. What was originally referred to as the President’s House or the Executive Mansion, was changed into The White House under Theodore Roosevelt’s direction. Many buildings had colorful, elaborate signs and symbols, so you would find them easily. Even if you couldn’t read. Symbols and pictures were means of communication way back when illiteracy was widespread.
Our neighborhood pharmacy, with its origins dating back more than two hundred years, is named the Pharmacy of the Golden Elephant. It is across from the former House of the Blue Unicorn. A unicorn relief still decorates the successor building. Animals of power and magic: the elephant and the unicorn.
A name adds a quality, character or meaning to an object. It can suggest the prominent standing of its owner, speak of a noble attitude or of that extra serving of love, strength or protection. A name enriches your home with a story, a feeling, a direction, perhaps with a high goal. No wonder that people even name their cars.
Naming your home deepens your relationship with it, and it invites support. I named my apartment Joy. So, even when I am in a lousy mood, I can still say: I live in Joy. Which, when the mood is lousy, feels a bit like a joke. Nevertheless, it’s the truth.
During the Covid pandemic, home was the place to be. It was more than just a place to share meals or entertain, store our wardrobe, spend the night or negotiate space with the folks that we’re living with. Home turned into an office and an online school. Home became the only place where we had a sense of total control over our lives. John, a passionate sailor, named his rooftop apartment The Lighthouse. While staying at home during the lockdowns, the Guardian of the Lighthouse wrote weekly notes to friends and family, calling them Letters from the Lighthouse.
Home is where we unfold into the very person that we are. If your home doesn’t have a name yet, why not name it now? Adding a name to that nurturing space adds to your own story and might create even more support for you and whoever shares your home with you. Make it fun. Throw a name giving party. Children love naming their homes (and they are probably more imaginative than you). Every member of the family gets to choose a name. Then, you vote. If you’re lucky, your home accepts the vote.
Name your home. Love your home. Loving your home is loving yourself. Loving yourself lifts your spirits, strengthens your immune system, lets you act from a place of contentment and therefore, in the long run, will benefit the whole world. What a value at no cost!
Step #11 = MAKE IT YOURS
© Beate Brigid Schilcher 2021-07-22