The Meaning of Belonging...

I mailed my passport application off today and I considered, not for the first time, what is the meaning of belonging to a particular country or region, and how is that defined in a time of constant movement.

We are still encumbered with ideas that race is tied to a particular place, but this is deceptive. In the same way perhaps that we may assume a certain religious conviction to be associated with a place. These concepts maybe ingrained, but I find that they are no longer valid, (if they ever were).

Without my passport perhaps I feel a little stateless. Yet is it just an engraved document that defines our loyalties? Isn't there something more that claims us? What claims can nations make upon our citizenship? Should we forced to choose one nation over another? How about one region within a country? Of course, a person may also have a close bond to one place via birth, another via marriage and another by preference, all at different times of life.

With people meeting and traveling and living across boundaries, what does it mean to be from " x-land" or "y- stan."

August Turns to September

A friend of mine told me recently that the transition from August to September seems too abrupt/too drastic to just be the turn of another day. Perhaps, it is as if we suddenly realize we will lose the balmy lazy days of summer which will soon be replaced by the first brisk days of autumn. It seems as if this is a change year that should be marked by a new season or holiday. I agree.

The change does seem abrupt, and I feel I am almost caught out a little by the change of months... I guess September is a month to return to school, to end summer holidays etc.

It is cold and wet today. Wishing I had a bit of someones company.

UP and DOWN

Funny sometimes how we can be so up and down in the same day. Yesterday I felt a little tired, and somehow a bit down. However, I knew that it would be a short term thing and I would be feeling better soon. Anyway, after a simple meal all was well. Which also reminded me of a precept I arrived at a few years ago...Problems are not going to improve on an empty stomach, so one may as well have something to eat and try to figure out things.

Poem for Today

In Good Times

In the top,
In the very highest,

Roller-coaster high,
Of this love,

When I feel like,

I am in the tallest tree a schoolboy ever climbed,

Surrounded by brushing leaves,

Like morning-time kisses all around me,
That is when I become terrified.

Getting tragically afraid that I will lose you,
Another thing gone.
I am terrified that I will have no love again,
No reason to go anywhere,

Forcing myself to be good to others all the time.

Because I know joy and peace - I fear it,
And also you.

Home...

This is all so very obvious but was on my mind this week...

We tend to associate "home" as a geographic concept, but of course it is more of an essence...more of a feeling of security, contentment and ease. Perhaps it is tied in to work, or being with someone. For some it may be the thrill of constantly being on the road.
If home is a sense of place and belonging, it could be gained anywhere.

In the constant upheaval of time and place, the most resilient people are those who may be able to make their home where they find it. They can dovetail their sense of home with whatever physical place they happen to be at. Definitely a useful skill, right up there with being able to sleep as soon as one closes ones eyes, no matter the place or time.