Finding your people to guide you home by Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018)

I LOVE this writing from Ursula Le Guin. It so beautifully explores the concept of home as something deeper than a physical place or familial ties.

“Home isn’t Mom and Dad and Sis and Bud. Home isn’t where they have to let you in. It’s not a place at all. Home is imaginary.”

“Home, imagined, comes to be. It is real, realer than any other place, but you can’t get to it unless your people show you how to imagine it—whoever your people are. They may not be your relatives. They may never have spoken your language. They may have been dead for a thousand years. They may be nothing but words printed on paper, ghosts of voices, shadows of minds. But they can guide you home. They are your human community.

“All of us have to learn how to invent our lives, make them up, imagine them. We need to be taught these skills; we need guides to show us how. Without them, our lives get made up for us by other people.”

It challenges the conventional notion of home as a static location or a predefined relationship, suggesting instead that home is a creation of the imagination. It’s not a place you find—it’s a reality you build with the guidance of those who inspire and shape you.

Your guides to home may not be your family or those physically close to you. They could be historical figures, authors, mentors, or even long-dead voices captured in words and ideas. These influences form your human community, helping you imagine and construct the life that feels like home.

Ultimately, this piece emphasizes the importance of imagination and intentionality in shaping our lives. Without learning to craft our own story and envision our own sense of belonging, we risk letting others dictate the shape of our lives. It’s a call to seek inspiration, embrace creativity, and actively participate in the ongoing creation of our true home.