roots and wings

We've been discussing the idea of mobility, stability, and what defines us by the borders we were born into. We also talked about the beauty and horrors of being in the liminal stage of life. a good percentage of the people reading this are in it. its that straddling the border of home and where you'll end up. it's a " well im not from here but i'm not sure how long i'm staying"

its a non permanent feeling.

there is something comforting in the the truth that this is temporary. this semester. this life on earth. it also causes me to evaluate how im spending my time. Im only in Australia for four months which is not a long duration in terms of a lifespan. .. I'm only on this earth for maybe 80 years- a blip on the scale of eternity.

what do we do with this brief period?

honestly? it kind of makes me want to go crazy, to make mistakes, to take risks, to love fully and get hurt because of it. to wander purposefully and by chance get lost.

But also to not hold onto anything too firmly. these days and possessions are fleeting. so we open our hands and let God give and take away. and we open ourselves to let people in and out and trust that God restores.

I once heard that you can't have roots and wings. at the time i thought this was true- that you were either a homebody or a nomad.still or moving. grounded or carefree

im not sure that it's really that black and white. i think there is a time in your life for each. we just have to open ourselves to which ever season God is calling us to. change rarely comes at a convenient time or on our own terms.

thoughts on a bus ride

this is a bit scattered, bear with me

Eric Leed writes," For the ancients the journey had value in that it explained human fate and necessity, while the moderns extolled it as a manifestation of freedom and as an escape from necessity and purposiveness."

It's funny how we never want to be the tourist. When we visit new places we take the map out in dark places and when we catch ourselves looking around like we've never seen the eiffel tower before we quickly lower our eyes and roll them at the person with a point and shoot and high white socks.

People use to journey in search of answers to the human life, this is a pilgrimage. now we travel and vacate to escape our reality, for the most part. we arrive to a foreign land and want to know what that place can do for us. its selfish, and pretty American. and we sit on white beaches and drink Sangria and wish it was our reality.

one of the defining characteristics of our postmodern culture is the search for something authentic. something , exposed, something real. its as if we've looked at the history books and decided there was too much bullshit in the world.we wanted something different. you can see it in fashion (Madonna's lace get up) ,architiecture ( modern buildings leaving the exposed brick) , and our obsession with "reality" TV. it affects every area of our life. we want the behind the scenes version of everything. but i dont think this is just a postmodernist goal. i think this is a timeless effort. we're all searching for a truth of some sort.

William T. Cavanaugh said that a pilgrmage was a kenotic movement, a stripping away of the external sources of stability in one's life.

never thought of myself as a pilgrim, i like to wear jeans and dance but if that is what defines a pilgrimage, then thats sure as hell what this journey has been for me. im ok with that.