When we decide to move to another country, we often don’t fully know why.
There’s an intuition, a calling, a desire to explore.
Sometimes we just know that we have to go, as if something inside us says:
“you’ll find something important there.”
And the truth is, being far from home can be deeply transformative.
Returning to memory and feeling the root
The other day, my aunt and cousin came to visit, and hearing them speak in Sicilian sparked something in me.
It felt like an immediate journey back to the beaches of my childhood—
to the tastes, smells and words that shaped me.
And I felt something deeply human: homesickness.
Where is home when it’s no longer nearby?
In Barcelona, I’ve built friendships, a life, a present.
But the language, the expressions, the cultural codes… are not the ones I grew up with.
And that, in some moments, can make us feel like strangers even in places where we are loved.
I was talking about this recently with a client:
—“Now that my marriage is over, I feel like a complete foreigner. Neither here nor there.”
Because when pain hits hard, we don’t look for logic. We look for shelter.
The body and soul seek grounding
Familiar flavours and colours comfort us because they were there when we were children.
And in that daily past, between laughter, routine, and also sorrow,
we learned what it meant to feel safe.
When we emigrate, that physical shelter disappears.
But the good news is, we can build it within.
Holding yourself when no familiar arms are near
It’s not cheesy. It’s vital.
Sometimes the most tender and powerful thing you can do is embrace yourself with all that you are:
- your photo albums
- your childhood songs
- your memories
- your story
Create within yourself a space where you can say:
“I’m here, and I’m okay here.”
Home is what you organise inside your heart
Those of us who live far away know that home isn’t always a physical place.
Sometimes it’s a feeling.
An inner certainty of belonging.
A calm, ordered heart to return to.
If you’re far away, if you feel divided between countries, languages or cultures,
Gestalt therapy can help you reconnect with what anchors you, soothes you, and gives your life meaning.
