I recently had the opportunity to meet someone who has given up his possessions and his home in order to teach, and inspire, others all over the word. He smiles when he calls himself “itinerant” and talks freely about the moment he found his calling and rid himself of the life he had previously worked so hard to achieve.

After the class, I turned to the friend I was with and asked “Could you give up everything and live a life like that, going to wherever you feel called to go next?” We both agreed, very quickly, that this was not the life for us, that neither of us was a person who could imagine an existence like that. In fact, the whole idea seemed impossible to even contemplate.

As I’ve thought about it, I know that I would never be willing to give up the sense of security that comes from having a home base and knowing that “this is where I live.” I would never adjust to the kind of insecurity that comes from not knowing where you will land next. And, let’s be honest, I am attached to my “stuff,” my kitchen full of baking toys, my closets filled with clothes and shoes, all the comforts that home implies.

But, at the very core, I know that this goes beyond the idea of “home sweet home,” it goes to family and to connection. At my core, I know that I am a person who values roots, who prioritizes family and who builds and treasures relationships. A life built on brief interludes, on hellos followed quickly by goodbyes, would leave me in a perpetual state of loss without resolution.

I admire those who find their calling and act on it, regardless of the impact on their lives. Their sense of purpose is strong and their belief is in the greater good. And, while I feel my own sense of urgency and purpose, being with those I love and building a world of relationships is where I live and thrive and fill my full heart.