Before we get started, a quick shoutout to "the 4:20 Crowd!"
Not only that, there are a LOT of 20's happening today, and we'll actually have the unique configuration of 4:20 on 4/20... 2020. So blaze up and enjoy the moment!
What We DO With Alone Time
Being somewhat of a "Hermit" both by nature and by choice, the whole Quarantine thing hasn't really presented that much hardship for me.
The thing I notice most about Life in the Time of Covid is actually something that gives me a sense of peace and well-being: the fact that when I do go out and about, the greater world is so much quieter and slower than usual... and it feels like it finally matches my "internal pace."
But I digress.
In a different post, 
That got me to reflecting on the many places I have lived... and things I miss about these places, and how we might use awareness of what we miss from our pasts to form a picture of what's important to us in life. Perhaps it also helps us pinpoint what sort of person we are, in our essence; in our soul.
My auntie's house in Denmark, where I (in part) grew up... circa 2011
Places Remembered...
Remembering old places — particularly if you've moved around a lot — really can become a healing meditation, if you allow it. It's an invitation to a positive frame of reference; trying to isolate the things that left and impression and that we still actively miss, on some level.
What do I miss about Austin? The big summer thunderstorms we'd get in July, August and September. The 4-meat BBQ plate at the Green Mesquite. The view of the city from my former in-laws house in Westlake Hills. The Central Market grocery.
What do I miss about Denmark? Freshly smoked mackerel. The bread. Our tennis court sized kitchen garden. The beech forests in spring, with a carpet of anemones in bloom. The woods near my auntie's house.
The beach near where I spent my teens...
What do I miss about Spain (where I lived as a teenager-to-21)? Hiking our local river into the mountains. A certain scent of the house in our entryway. Listening to Radio Luxembourg on a crackling connection on the radio in my bedroom. Mediterranean sunsets.
What do I miss about France (as a real small kid, and again around 13-14): Our neighbors' "Tuxedo" cat (technically speaking "my" first cat). Tiny curvy roads. Picking up colored sea glass on the beach. Living in a place that had been "a town" since 800 BCE; something about that level of antiquity.
Quickly, it Becomes a LONG Journey...
As a meditation exercise, it quickly becomes a very long journey... because there are so many places.
I'm not going to share all of them. I started to create a timeline, but realized some of it was out of sequence... at that point in the list, I had counted 23 moves in 12 countries.
A pattern emerges, though... what I tend to miss is the natural world of a place, and its food. On the other hand, activities and people are remarkably absent from the list. Which has long been a fundamental truth in my life... I tend to feel more of a connection with the land than I do with people.
I tend to connect with the spirit of places; what in some cultures is referred to as a "Duende." The power of place. My sense of well-being comes directly from the Earth, rather than from doing anything. It comes from the air; from nature; from something I can't quite characterize.
As a final point in this exercise, what's interesting in all this is that the part of coastal Western Washington where I have lived for the past 14 years actually has many of the qualities I remember from elsewhere.
And maybe... that's why it feels like home.
Thanks for reading!
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Created at 20200420 12:29 PDT
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