You know that deep sense of longing you experience to explore places you’ve only seen in pictures and encounter adventures you’ve only read about in books?

Yeah… I don’t have that.

Easy now, don’t take it to heart. I have nothing against people who travel, in fact, somewhere in the deep recesses of my heart, I acknowledge that it’s a beautiful thing to travel and meet new places and people. I just don’t feel for it as strongly as you do. And guess what? It’s not as uncommon as you think.

The Mountains Are Not Calling And I Must Stay Home
The Burrowphile Ideology

In the age of #WANDERLUST bombarding you from every side (how much of this “lust” is genuine is a whole other issue I do not wish to tread on), we are a poor minority of “non-wanderlusters” who the mountains never really tried calling.

And we’re TOTALLY fine with that. What we’re not fine with is being labelled as ‘dull’ or ‘boring’ just because we aren’t as pumped up about the idea of travelling.

What’s even more annoying? You’ve got ‘wanderlust’, ‘globe-trotters’, ‘explorers’ and so on to describe the travel lovers while we’re stuck with off-putting terms like ‘homester’, ‘sedentary’ and ‘homebody’. Seriously?

Well, enough of that. From now on, you, my home-loving friend, and your kind can proudly refer to yourselves as burrowphiles – a warm term which reminds one of home and the Weasley Burrow (these are a few of my favourite things).

Confused whether this could be you? Here’s a checklist for you of the characteristic traits of a burrowphile –

1. You cherish your comfort zone

Your comfort zone is sacred. If you could pack it up in a suitcase and carry it around town, you would. But you can’t. So, you don’t. Does that make you a spoilt brat?

No, because if spending insane amounts of money to travel doesn’t make someone a spoilt brat, you absolutely CANNOT call a burrowphile one. ‘Economist’ is acceptable.

2. You NEVER get bored of sitting at home

Getting tired of being at home is a concept you cannot wrap your head around. You can think of a million things you could do to spend your time.

In fact, if you’re currently living away from home, you start preparing a to-do list waaay before you even think of booking tickets so that you can get cracking as soon as you’re back.

The travel impulse is mental and physical curiosity. It's a passion. And I can't understand people who don't want to travel - Paul Theroux
It’s really not that big a mystery if you open your mind to it

Read More: The Migratory Malayalee: Why God’s Own People Left Their Country


3. Halfway through a trip, your thoughts are already back home

Even while you’re genuinely having a great time exploring new places with your friends, you catch yourself daydreaming about your warm bed back home. While your friends lament out loud the prospective end of the trip, you’re secretly glad you’ll be back home soon.

4. You hate packing to leave

You have all the stuff you need at home and dread having to plan and sort out items based on where you’re going, how long you’ll be there, etc. It’s not materialism, it’s emotional attachment with a dash of laziness.

5. It’s not just about family, it’s about the place

All familial attachments aside, you have an emotional bond with your house – the physical structure of it, the rooms, the way the sunlight enters through the windows, the familiar furniture – you get the gist. Just stepping into your house after a long day is therapy in itself. There’s no place like home.

Now, before you go on about all the benefits of travelling, I’ll stop you right there and tell you that we know. People have tried time and again to convert us instead of just accepting that we all don’t like the same things.

It all comes down to the balance of the universe. While we need the explorers and the adventurers, the world also needs a hint of those burrowphiles at all times.

You hear that? You maintain the balance of the universe! So, don’t let anyone shame you for being who you are.

Pass this on to fellow burrowphiles and spread the positivity. Peace.


Image Credits: Google Images


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