Like most people, I love holidays, and I particularly love travelling. The accepted idea is that we go away from home for a holiday and to rest from our work.

In fact on holiday anything new and unexpected is mildly stressful. We have to prepare for the journey. We have to work out slightly new patterns of living and doing things. We meet unknown people. We have to make strange decisions…what are we going to DO today? In effect we have to work a bit harder internally, when everything is different to normal.

Coming home, with it familiarity of place, people, things and routines, then becomes our rest. And of course we appreciate it all the more because of that.

We can probably never truly understand the value of home without leaving home.