delara, interrupted

kari, you so get it. thank you for that, sistah!

the thing about chicago: it's a new city all the time. it's why i can't believe i've been here a decade. on a regular basis, i see something or someone do something i've never seen before. so it's easy to miss this place.

the thing about travel and moving: 'Abdu'l-Baha mentioned that it was a fulfillment of the human experience to live in various places on earth and see how people in those places organize themselves. so, as much as we can see how people from all over the world organize themselves within the context of chicago - there's also value in traveling other places.

but, yeah, fondness for home is bound to be there. i'm still very fond of minnesota and regularly get nostalgic - especially when my cousins send me on-line ads for my grandparents' house being for sale. but, at the same time i don't feel like i could go back. i can't relate like i used to and i don't know if i want to. i prefer the way i learned to relate to the world through my experiences in chicago. going back would feel like a regression in human interaction somehow.

thanks, all. hugs and kisses!

Fortunately for me Athens is better than home. I do miss it, but I can totally dig here. Many of the things I miss about home are not around anymore anyway.

Is it strange that I should feel that way about Chicago having never lived there?

And lay-c: I'll buy your self-help book when it's published. :)

December 1997, 3 months after leaving Chicago for Lebanon, I was sitting in a TGIFridays--a kitchy cultural import if there was one--on the Beirut coastline. The walls of the place was covered in historical American ads and artifacts. I was overcome with a sense of being home. Weird, cause I find TGIF kind of boring stateside. Even kitsch can become endearing when removed from your daily life...so much more the people and things you value. :) Miss you Delara.

Hey D,

Since your missing the Chi, how about putting up some new pics of your new digs and Nash-Vegas so we can see what we're missing??

One more thing, I can't believe I forgot this: if nothing "major" happens for a while or we don't see something major happening for us in the immediate future, that is scary. I think that's one motivation for people to move somewhere drastically different. Maybe it's that we fear a life of monotany? Maybe making it work in that life is the true test?

It could be that the entire purpose of your new life is to give you a point of reference for where you really feel like you belong. It's kind of the opposite, but I feel that way about Nashville after living here in Chicago for a few years. But you know, my parents always told me that where your family is is where you your home is. And when you think about the qualities of our souls and how they are connected to our families, I believe that statement is true. "Family," of course, is not always blood.

I've been reflecting lately on "the next move" and how most of my peers are always itching to get out and realize their true potential. What gets me is the possibility that they are just scared to realize that they can do all of that RIGHT WHERE THEY ARE NOW. It could be that their real next move is much closer to home and quite possibly more challenging--to carve a groove for yourself that stretches for years in the future, right where you're standing geographically. Maybe feeling nailed down is too much or maybe the fear of failure or humiliation in front of your "family" is too immense. If someone really wants to make a difference in the world, I'm convinced it just takes true dedication, long-term vision, fearlessness, and flexibility. Don't be afraid to fall flat on your face or worse--not work to your potential. That is a lesson in itself.

And now it's time for me to go put the final touches on my latest self-help book. Thank you.

thanks, all. and yes - you've managed to put your finger on it. it is "my cheers" that i miss. fo sho. and abs - i'm with you on the chipotle tip as well! man, could i use one of those burritos today! yum! hope you're well, aaron! and thanks for that memory... good times. :)

Hey, Delara. I was just talking yesterday about how cool Chicago is, and one of the things I was remembering was you at National Convention with chaos swirling around you and you sitting casually at your laptop, looking calm and in control.

Nice new look.
It sounds like part of what you miss is that Chicago was your Cheers - where everybody knows your name.
I'm always missing living in the places I've lived, even if I lived there for only a short time.

Diggin the new layout, D.
We have no Jamba Juice out here either, and man sometimes I loooong for a Jamba Juice on the corner so I can get an excellent smoothie - and just have that be lunch. Ok and I really wish there was a Chipotle around too. Just the little places, with excellent excellent food that I miss. yeah.

And on the level of what it is you really miss - I understand, maybe not fully, but I understand, fo sho. Chicago wasn't a chapter in my life, it was a lifetime I wish I could carry it with me in fuller color every day, but that aint reality.