Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Home is where the soul is

Collecting has meaningImg_1986_1 

Entering someones home I sense I am given a key to discovering who they are. I often feel the sacredness of the person, the symbols of their lives are there for the naked eye.

A home is an eye to your soul, Carl Jung said something along those lines. Before him, St Teresa of Avila was sharing her thoughts about the soul as a castle with many rooms…

Home is a reflection of the soul…it speaks of dreams, activities, cares and the daily life as we live it. A home is a collection of what we are and plan to be, it shows our interests and style de vie.

"We are shaped and fashioned by what we love…"  wrote St Augustine.

When entering someones home, I feel I am entering their very being, as beautiful as looking at a coffee-table book, showing me the pages of their soul .

photo: a corner in my home.

Comments

31 responses to “Home is where the soul is”

  1. Shannon

    My home has a bit of clutter, a bit of neatness, but it always says “Make yourself at home.”

    Reply
  2. susan@artstream

    surrounded by those we love, our objects of desire!

    Reply
  3. Jeanne

    Building a home of love and peace and joy for your family is the most important job on Earth~ I love to get a feel of your home each day with your beautiful photographs and words and blessings.
    You are a wonderful friend and I thank you for your love and kindness.
    Love Jeanne ^j^

    Reply
  4. weirdbunny

    Oh dear, if you came into my home you’d have to wade through the mess. I find it a chore to put the dish washer on each day!!
    I’ve put you on my side bar, hope that’s ok?

    Reply
  5. ParisBreakfasts

    Under no conditions can Mr. Jung look in my closet!Hmmm…I think I’d like to export everything in your home Corey and put it in mine 🙂

    Reply
  6. Annabelle

    Home is where
    They love you
    Home is where
    Your heart lies
    Home is where
    The sanctuary to your soul lives
    Visiting your blog home exudes the person you are and inspires me to care on in bettering my life by thinking positively and not so much on the negative. Thanks, Corey.

    Reply
  7. adi

    how cud u post this on sept 22?
    and,
    sometimes homes are borrowed books, they must be returned intact, as they were before you touched them… so, we cover them up in the borrowed newspapers of neglect… keeping them, living them, but with a thought to return them someday…
    Tongue in Cheek responds: Adi, I corrected the date, to the proper number…12th. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

    Reply
  8. andrea

    I couldn’t agree more.
    a.

    Reply
  9. Jos

    The moment that I fell truly inlove with Grigore is when he took me to his warehouse. Instead of staying in his house, he had taken up residence there, among his black and red oil paintings of angels and piles of bricks and church pews and old, beveled glass windows…among many other things.
    I was captivated!

    Reply
  10. pinar

    when I was reading about William Morris.. a saying attracted my attention..
    he believed that beautiful minds.. could be raised in beatiful surroundings.. I thought..it’s true.. surroundings affect people.. at least they affect me.. and I feel home when I go in certain places.. you are right.. homes are books.. we can even call them ” Memoires”..

    Reply
  11. AnnieElf

    Corey. This is so remarkable. Your writing feels like a roadmap to putting my house back in order. I’ve been so busy with my interior self, I’ve let other things slide. Yet I have many special things in my home and this piece inspires me to get busy highlighting them.

    Reply
  12. wendy

    As I scanned the comments someone mentioned here that this post seems out of place to have on 9-12, but I couldnt disagree more. There is something about difficult experiences that help us get our priorities in gear, and deepen the simplicity and nurturance of our nests, for ourselves and for those that we love. And I think that is a very healing thing.
    I was very moved by the St Augustine quote here as well, “”We are shaped and fashioned by what we love…” Its true. And there is no better way to heal the past than to create a kinder and more beautiful future.
    Tongue in Cheek Antiques: I am ahead of myself and added this to the wrong date, I have corrected my error, it should read the 12th and not the 22nd.

    Reply
  13. constance

    Hi Corey,
    I should be sewing, but first I wanted you to know that I agree with your prose. Also like your little vignette. It is unique and special.

    Reply
  14. Britt-Arnhild

    Collections of memories, like this one, are true treasures. Now I see why you call your daughter Chelsea 🙂
    The gargoyle is so charming, my heart is beating foir gargoyles….he looks like a Norwegian Troll.

    Reply
  15. Ulla

    Yes, yes, yes! I totally agree! Home is where we feel safe, and comforted by what we love and cherish… P.S. thanks for the yummy link, I requested a catalog!

    Reply
  16. Linda

    Lovely photo along with lovely thoughts!

    Reply
  17. Shannon

    Wendy,
    I think Adi was asking about the 22nd because Cory’s post says September 22, 2006 🙂
    I don’t think she was referring to the WTC attacks 🙂
    Just felt the need to point that out for some reason 🙂
    Tongue in Cheek responds:
    Thanks Shannon !! I corrected my mistake and wrote the right date.

    Reply
  18. Colette

    My home is overtaken by my art work. When people come in, I apologize for the mess in my studio space, but they unfailingly tell me they love it, that there’s so much to look at. (My bedroom, however, is calm and off-limits to clutter and anything that has to do with work and the outside world!)
    xoxo

    Reply
  19. shelley Noble

    Another beautiful thought, Corey. You have such a way of noticing the graces of life and expressing it so poetically. I love it!
    (PS: I love the “what we love” quote and have it in my journal. I always had attributed it to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and just double checked it online, in case that matters. Nothing against the great St. Augustine.)

    Reply
  20. mary jane

    Hi Corey..you inspire me to rethink this place I call home. Just yesterday I felt like sweeping all of our stuff in the street except for my brown leather chair. If it were possible, my dream home could change colors and styles often without a penny spent however the people that live in our home, I’ll hang on to them always….hugs

    Reply
  21. mary ann

    exactement corey! i have always thought that & that is why i feather my nest the way that i do!
    xo, mary ann

    Reply
  22. cruststation

    Oh my goodness,you have the most beautiful stuff. Love the plates and the way you surrounded them with shells, corals and things which are whimsical and pretty at the same time.

    Reply
  23. renee

    I feel your words and yes I’ve been at that place in relation to my home but lately, if my home is a reflection of my soul, my soul must be in utter dissaray and transition! Seemingly my purpose, my soul are being summoned elsewhere? I love the ways you lead me to think.

    Reply
  24. Lisa

    I always worry if someone is coming over…eek, things are all over, eeek I should have dusted, eeek the bathroom needs remodeling, eek eek eek. But at the end of the day it’s OUR home, our sanctuary and it’s contents reflects who we are not whether or not it’s pristine. So thank you for putting all that in perspective.

    Reply
  25. herhimnbryn

    Phew! At least I vacuumed this weekend before you knock on the door!
    Items:-
    A collection of Marmite jars and Old Bovril jars.
    Small hand thrown bowls in deep red and ochre.
    Books.
    Pictures.
    Old Victorian saucers ( they have to be square not round).
    Stones and polished rock.
    Dust ( most of the time)

    Reply
  26. Paris Parfait

    I, too am a collector! Your collection of shells and Chinese porcelain, etc. is gorgeous! Your taste is exquisite and your post is beautiful. xo

    Reply
  27. la vie en rose

    …and the state of my home is often a very good indication of the state of my life and my soul…

    Reply
  28. Julie

    Uh, oh. I better clean my room up. 😉

    Reply
  29. naturegirl

    When we are in harmony with our home it has a vital connection with the quality of our entire life.

    Reply
  30. wendy

    Sorry for the misunderstanding in my comment, I didnt mean to offend anyone : )
    I was just trying to say that focusing on deepening the nurturance of our homes, like Corey was posting about, was really a perfect thing to post after 9-11, a very healing thing

    Reply
  31. Kristy

    Oh Corey if you could only see my house at the minute.I would dread to think what you would think.Definitely a work in progress!

    Reply

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