Our Homeland

By Bert Hellinger

The country we come from, our Homeland and our country are part of our destiny.

They are closely connected to our mother. Our homeland for us is like a mother. We have received everything essential from our homeland. Therefore, we have an obligation towards our homeland. As in other relationships there must be a balance of giving and taking. We have received so many gifts from our homeland: education, a culture that supports us and the language we speak. Therefore we feel we have to give back something to our homeland by serving it in many different ways.

Sometimes our homeland gets into trouble. We have seen that for instance in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Albania. These countries got into trouble and then many of the people tried to escape these troubles by moving to another country. In this way they refused to bear the same fate along with their homeland. What is the result of this act? They lose strength. We can observe how many of them, just as they were not prepared to serve their homeland, very often also refuse to serve the country that receives them. In both countries they stay in an attitude of: I take without giving something in return. I have observed that some of those who leave their homeland in order to escape their obligations, there get it! Then they have to return to their homeland in order to get well again.

Some people have to leave their homeland for various other reasons and seek refuge in another country. I do not question that. Then, in their new homeland, they have to acquire the right to stay by being ready to serve this country. How does that apply to business? A business is safe if it is connected with its homeland and serves the people in its homeland. They come first. Then a business may expand, but its roots must remain in its homeland. Then it is much safer for it to spread somewhere else.

Some people want to leave their homeland with the idea that they will find their luck and good fortune somewhere else; this has very much to do with the relationship to their mother. If we have lost the relationship with our mothers, we have also lost our relationship to our homeland. If we have found the relationship to our mother again we have also found the relationship to our homeland again. In our homeland we are on solid ground. We can get much more support in our original surroundings than we can hope for somewhere else.

Someone asked the question: what happens if a company has been established in one country, and then they see that in another country they can produce more cheaply? Then they leave their homeland in a certain way. On the other hand, they serve another country as well. I do not judge this in any way. If in our hearts we have a connection to our homeland and we expand and serve other countries as well – this is part of a worldwide movement of globalization by which various countries develop a closer relationship than seemed possible a few years ago. I consider globalization as a movement for the benefit of many beyond our own homeland towards a greater community.”