I’ve had several physical habitats throughout my life. Riyadh, London, Amman, and now Dubai. There were times in each of these cities where I felt I belonged, and times where I felt like an alien. But before blaming geography, weather and plate tectonics on my well-being, perhaps I should examine myself from within. Emotional homes, in my opinion, are far more important to human beings than the surroundings we are placed in. What separates us from animals and living organisms is our ability to self-actualise, and the complex mechanics behind our evolved brain activity.
Place an ape in a jungle and he’ll feel right at home. Place him in New York City – unless we’re talking about King Kong – and he’ll unlikely survive. The jungle is his natural environment, it is where he’s made to thrive. To compare humans alike would simply be redundant. We are complex creatures, with each and every person out of the 7.888 billion on earth uniquely different (no offense intended to the apes). Nevertheless, from facial features to personalities and right down to fingerprints, even identical twins can never be a 100 per cent identical. That is precisely what separates us from one another.
Perhaps science and evolution can play a role in the specific places humans call home. Not to delve too deeply into the countless scientific theories of how homo-sapiens evolved, but there is no denying that our lineage determines certain physical characteristics we possess. And yet that does not explain why my siblings, who share roughly 50 percent of similar DNA according to 23andMe, each wound up living in different physical territories. What sets us uniquely apart is our emotional and mental internal havens, encouraging us to find our distinctive surroundings within the Earth that billions of people call home.
To label a place or even a specific address a habitat, there are certain characteristics the surroundings would have to possess. Think of them as a checklist, if you will. The same can be said with our own bodies, our minds, souls and hearts. Ask yourself the tough questions. Are you happy from within? Are you comfortable in your own skin? Can you spend an evening alone and find pure solitude with yourself? Perhaps I sound like a self-love author because of all the books I’ve read in the genre. As corny as it sounds, these are essential and – forgive the melodrama – life-changing questions.
Whether you want to take a job in a new city, take a trip with friends or even find the love of your life, how can one possibly find happiness externally when they’re not satisfied from within? One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt from my collection of self-love books is that in order to attract positive energy externally, you must find comfort and solitude in being alone.
To quote Jay Shetty: “The less we love ourselves, the more lonely we feel.” In other words, the feeling of isolation isn’t necessarily only dependent on how many friends and family members surround you or whether or not you’re single, it’s about the love you have for yourself. You can give all the love you have to offer to those around you, but if you don’t give it to yourself, reciprocated love will never truly satisfy you.
Before we focus too much on our natural, man-made and synthetic habitats (not that I see myself creating an avatar in the metaverse any time soon), let’s devote our energy into discovering what our mind, body, soul and hearts have to offer.
LEEN AL SAADI
@LEENALSAADI
[email protected]
