If you were in exile, how would you know? Only by comparison to what preceded your exile. Therefore, if as part of a greater whole, your corporate identity within K’lal Yisrael (all of Israel) was rooted in Torah, and the land of Israel, as well as the traditions of our forefathers; yet, you grew up somewhat removed from all of this, you would not realize that you are in exile.
Rather, especially, living in America, you might think that you live in the land of milk and honey, as per what Dathan and Aviram said, mistakenly, in regard to Mitzraim (Egypt; see Numbers 16:13). Moreover, wherever you live, an overemphasis on gashmiyos (material concerns) could be preventing you from recognizing the need to nourish the soul.
The true, biblical land of milk and honey, symbolic of abundance, is Israel, the land promised to the descendants of Abraham. And an emphasis on ruchniyos (spiritual concerns) helps us to transcend this material world, in order to connect to the abundance provided for us from H’Shem.
For, only when the soul begins to yearn in earnest for its Maker, does a realization occur that one has been living in a sense of personal exile on a spiritual level, because of a disconnect to one’s Source of All that Is. To return to that source in this life is possible through teshuvah, a change of heart, in acknowledgment of our past ways that were not in accord with G-d’s divine guidance, as mentioned in the Torah.
On a personal note, this journey must start somewhere in time and space; and, usually, takes many years, at least, in my case, to solidify into something concrete, imbued with sincerity, and a feeling of one’s path being the natural course that one prefers, regardless of past diversions. Thus, I hope to inspire others along the way as a fellow traveler along the derech (path).