Knowing, realizing, experiencing, giving directions = mastery
“In life, a person will come and go from many homes. We may leave a house, a town, a room, but that does not mean those places leave us. Once entered, we never entirely depart the homes we make for ourselves in the world. They follow us, like shadows, until we come upon them again, waiting for us in the mist.” -Ari Berk
I love to travel. That is no secret. I love to experience new places and new cities. My current location is only one of my adventures. One pin on my map. One city for my list. One story for my kids.
Yes, it is this, but it is so much more. It is one pin, but it is the most significant one yet. It comes at a major turning point in my life. A transition phase, if you will. Although I am fully aware of what I want to do for the "rest of my life", I have decided I am not ready for the "rest of my life". And I am 100% okay with that. I need this time in my life to prolong the Real World.
Real World. I hate the negative connotation that this term has. I believe that my future reality will be full of fun and love. I just needed this to happen first. This time in Israel is going to be an extremely important part of my life. It is a time where I took life by the horns and made it follow me, instead of the other way around.
I have traveled, yes. I have seen lots of amazing incredible sights and places, yes. But there are few places I have been long enouh to develop my home. Every time I have been somewhere new, there is one thing that I use as my barometer for assessing my sense of home. I feel at home when I am able to give directions. Yesterday, this happened for the first time in Tel Aviv. Two English speaking visitors approached me and a friend on the street and asked us for directions to Jaffa. What they didn’t know is that here in Tel Aviv, if you are anywhere near the water, Jaffa is the easiest neighborhood to get to, as you can see if from anywhere along the coast; but that doesn’t matter, because I was able to give them directions.
Giving directions gives me a sense of accomplishment or mastery. Once I have had this feeling in a place, it feels more like home. Tel Aviv is culturally like no where else I have ever lived, and in just three short weeks, it is starting to feel like home.