My wife and I often joke (sort of) that our dream home would feature a full-time chef, housekeeper and yard man. How nice would that be, right?

But, if you ask me, I’m living in my dream home now, for these reasons:

It’s a shelter from the wind, the rain, the freezing cold and the stifling heat.

It’s a refuge from the insanity and cruelty of the world out there.

It’s a place where I know I belong, and where I can always return.

And it’s where I find happiness with my wife and my cat, both of whom I dearly love, and who love me right back.

But when I think about it, if I apply the term more broadly, my dream home would be a place…

…where we all acknowledge and respect each other’s dignity.

…where freedom is enjoyed by everyone, not just a select few.

…where nobody has to live in a cardboard box, or beneath an overpass.

…where ignorance, prejudice, discrimination and hatred are just anachronistic, meaningless words, and nothing more.

…where poverty and violence have no place. Ever.

…where we consider others’ lives and welfare as important as our own.

…where all life is valued, in nature as well as in people.

I believe that is a home worth not only dreaming of, but working toward building.

Don’t you?