Allow me to do the dishes

I have always struggled with not belonging to any particular place. As far back as I can remember, I recall this uncanny feeling. The feeling can be best described as the feeling when you stand at a bus stand that is the middle of your journey.

You are not at your destination and you are not at your source as well. You are in-between (as Viktor put it ;-) ). You can not unpack your bags and sit down for a while because the next bus might be just around the corner. So you just end up staying there, waiting for the bus to arrive; your feet hurt, the shoulders feel the weight of the bag and you are most likely hungry and you have to use the restroom as well.

What helps ?

Deliberately looking at a place with loving eyes.

I would wait for my body to feel the belonging and then I would start treating a place like my own (not own as ownership).
I needed to build the muscle to flip the chronology. My body would start to feel comfortable in a place the more I started interacting with the place as my own.

There is a saying that goes you become a man in love by acting like a man in love and I think this thinking can be applied in most places. It gives me accountability for my actions. I am an autonomous agent in this world who is capable of affecting change.

Action precedes motivation is the other form of this. The act of looking at a place with these lenses really changed my perspective and how my body reacted to the place. This has spilled over to other parts of my being as well.

At a friends house

"Make yourself at home" is a very common saying, but what does it really mean?
It can mean "chill in this house in your pajamas as you would do in your own home".

It can also mean "treat this place with as much care and love as you would treat your own home".

It can also mean "this place is capable of offering as much love and care as your own home would".

Thus, it is a privilege to be allowed to do the dishes at a friend's place because what else can be more home-like than that!?

P.S. I enjoy the act of doing the dishes. It is correctly placed at the intersection of two of my big interests in life: water and maintenance.
P.S. This is of the same handwriting as you are a part of this place, but just a visitor

That's it,
Tooodles,
Sohom