I am so grateful for the luxury of travel. Wish I could do it all the time.
It makes me appreciate the larger world we all share. While it reinforces the diversity of Earth in terms of the unique flavor of places, traveling also drills in the unifying factors of the human experience in general.
Understanding I’m not exactly talking about a visit to China here, I still enjoy knowing that no matter where you go, people are people. And you are yourself wherever you go.
I feel the great sense of appreciation knowing how fortunate I am to return to Husband and D-Man. My dear friend in Arizona is alone. She’s new in a big new place, looking for work, the right man, and a group of friends she can be herself with. Those are hard things to come by at any time in life, in any place.
Over the last few years but particularly after this visit, I realize I’ve taken security for granted—that which comes from knowing I have a steady, trusted group of people on which I can depend. Knowing someone is waiting for me when I come home is huge. Being the independent person I’ve always tried to be, I’ve lost sight of how much peace of mind I derive from Husband, the parents and others. Self-sufficiency has little to do with it. It’s more about connection and safety.
I often wonder why it’s such a small priority for us to be receptive to new people with whom we come into contact. Perhaps we don’t know when someone new to our community really needs us—they don’t tell us they’re new or we don’t think to invite them out with us. Or maybe it’s because we think there just isn’t room for anyone else in our busy schedule. Our lives are so full and settled as they are—so many superficial details taking up most waking hours of our days.
I’m going to make a bigger point of discovering and embracing new people in Sarasota. I am grateful to those who did it for me when I was new so many years ago.
5 comments:
That is a fantastic ambition and a wonderful aim in life - to be welcoming to new people. I don't often experience newness (which does not always have to equal strangeness) but at the start of 2010, it was quite a shock to the system!
I'm all for self-sufficiency, but never am one to bea hermit. Bring on the awesome loveliness of support networks and our beloveds.
It's a wonderful thing to know that someone is at home waiting for you.
It's the reception of the people to a newcomer that makes a place "home" a lot quicker. People don't seem to go out of their way like the "welcome wagon" days of yesteryear. It seems now we have to go out looking for ways to become involved and fit into our communities. My friend wasn't liking the new place she moved, and then she did just that..went out and got involved and her life blossomed from it. May each of us remember we were once the "new kid on tha block" and welcome the newbies into our lives.
Excellent post! How true... I'm always new wherever I go, so I never think about who else is new, and who else needs a connection and support. I should do that.
What a wonderful piece and so in keeping with the season. Lacking close family, I've always learned to create little tribes of good friends wherever I've gone and I've been fortunate to have been welcomed into many, as well.
Beautiful post. Lots of good things I will be thinking about.
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