Hiraeth

When I return to my beloved North Carolina Mountains there is a feeling that I can not describe that wells up in me. It is sort of a joy and a feeling of possessiveness. I feel like crying and yet a happiness and yearning that is indescribable. 
  I was trying to describe this intense and overwhelming feeling that would well up inside me, as Dominic drove us through the beautiful Mountains of Western North Carolina and I was nearing the place of my birth, and childhood. My friend said, "I know what you are speaking about, for the Welsh have a word for that feeling. The Word is Hiraeth." 
 D. MARTYN LLOYD JONES says of Hiraeth

"HIRAETH, A LONGING OR HOMESICKNESS "IT IS DIFFICULT TO DEFINE HIRAETH, BUT TO ME IT MEANS THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF MAN BEING OUT OF HIS HOME AREA AND THAT WHICH IS DEAR TO HIM. THAT IS WHY IT CAN BE FELT EVEN AMONG A HOST OF PEOPLES AMIDST NATURE'S BEAUTY; LIKE A CHRISTIAN YEARNING FOR HEAVEN." --D. MARTYN LLOYD JONES 
Hiraeth is Welsh word that has no direct English translation. However, the University of Wales, Lampeter attempts to define it as homesickness tinged with grief or sadness over the lost or departed. It is a mix of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness, and the earnest desire for the home of the past."It is difficult to define Hiraeth, but to me it means the consciousness of man being out of his home area and that which is dear to him. That is why it can be felt even among a host of peoples amidst nature's beauty."  
. . like a Christian yearning for Heaven. . .