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What does it mean to be at home?

Affinity:

• when you speak using a certain inflection and the other knows exactly what you mean;
• when you leave a sentence hanging in mid-air and it says more than any words;
• when you make a small gesture and it conveys a whole story;
• when you don't say anything and everybody understands;
• when you don't mistake your friends for adversaries and adversaries for friends;
• where there is no need to retreat into a state of separateness in the face of some negativity.

Customs:

• when you do the right thing with no instructions needed;
• when everybody behaves the same way because the situation means the same to everybody;
• when something can be handled at a distance because direct feedback is unnecessary;
• when a group performs in unison without a specially prepared script;
• where simple silence is just as meaningful.

Background:

• when the beginning of a story is enough to evoke its meaning;
• when a memory from one's youth can be shared as if it had been an experience for all;
• when the intent behind a myth serves as the explanation;
• when a piece of history can be used as a gateway by everyone;
• when there is a problem and all parties speak from a similar context;
• where criticism does not automatically imply the categorising into some 'other', simply because there is no 'other'.

How many of us can say the above happens to them once a day, once a week, once a month - ever?