Friday, April 23, 2010

That Other Home

What is it made of? This home that we have within? Whether we like it or not, and among other things, it is made of other people, of what we acquire or inherit from them. And we carry it with us wherever we go. It´s an inseparable part of our self (not ourselves). And, again, whether that is good or not for some, the main people who live in our home within are our parents, or their absence, or what is left of our life with them. Both my parents are gone, but they were certainly essential for my home within. I thought about that in this 'story': THE HOME WITHIN, by Luciana Lhullier

7 comments:

Malu Vargas said...

It's very cute, Lu. Funny to think about things mothers usually do, coming back, tying the knots, surviving, sheltering. And then fathers come and say go, live, explore, risk yourself. Very Freudlike. Absolutely true. (Though in my case, which is quite unique, I just realized it was the other way round ;-))

Luciana said...

Thanks :-)!
My idea was to represent two forces, two movements that we constantly go through, in the sense that we need to go out exploring, but we also need a home to come back to; that we need to trust 'our guts'(our nature), but we also need a 'map'...

Vincent said...

My dear Luciana: I find myself at odds with this project! "the main people who live in our home within are our parents, or their absence, or what is left of our life with them".

Your generalisation certainly doesn't apply to me. "That other home", for me, contains no parent other than components of Mother Nature. Certainly, the absence of effective parental figures affected my life profoundly, but has left me, as I now see, with an absence of empathy for what seems like a claustrophobic image of childhood. (to put this in context, I have long hated that famous children's book "Where the wild things are" for the cosy parental context in which it is set).

Luciana said...

Vincent, I was thinking more in the sense of feminine and masculine.I have learned from many people throughout my life, not necessarily my actual parents.My childhood was not a spotless dream.
Many times when I say mother and father, I´m referring to those ancestral forces we all bring, that are or are not reinforced by our parental figures.Nevertheless, they´re still there.
When I say that my mother gave me the storm and my father gave me a map and a flashlight, I´m saying that nature and thought/reason can coexist.

Vincent said...

Luciana, thanks for being patient with me! Looking at it again, after your explanation, I see very clearly that it isn't about a real mother and father but an archetypal male and female root to our make-up. And following on from this, I see that it isn't a child's book only but something for an adult to fathom.

So where I was nervous to make such sharp criticism in my comment, I'm glad I did, for the opportunity to be enlightened by your response.

Warm thanks for this delightful outcome.

keiko amano said...

Lu,

I’m writing a short story, and someone asked me who audience is. My reaction was to tell her,
"Everybody in the whole world!" But come to think of it, not everyone would like to read about the Japanese language. So, I guess, audience is important.

So, that’s that. But some great stories are read by young and old, cross cultures, people of different childhoods, and for generations.

In your new story, I feel your genuine concern underneath. I’ve read your blog for more than a year, so I know. This is what I think. There must be a technique to show your genuineness universally. But, of course, I don’t know how that works!

Luciana said...

Vincent, you were being honest. I appreciate that. :-)
Keiko, I know what you mean, and I think it might have to do with the illustrations(I believe images have to tell a story or unfoldings of a story as well). Those were the ones I had at hand with that application in that website. But I´m not done with The Home Within and Wings. I have the images for them in my mind and heart.I´m training my hands and I´ll draw them myself - one day ;-D