I was reflecting this morning upon my nomadic existence. Every year since I was four, I have spent a year doing one thing, in one place, and with one group of people before moving on to something related, and yet new and different. This used to mean changing grades–new classroom and teacher, new set of skills and knowledge to learn. I’ll be twenty-seven next month, and the transitions continue much as they have for more than two decades. Every year the landscapes change. North Pasadena, run-down former army barracks, priceless university medical building. The views out of the windows of my various accommodations have included everything from helicopter landing pad to section-8 senior housing. The view at present is comprised of a panoramic view of Los Angeles. Dodgers stadium and Chavez ravine are in full view, as are the hills surrounding the LA Basin, and the 5 Freeway just north of downtown.

The internal landscape changes also continue. I can remember being in fourth grade and struggling to work out long division problems on the homemade dry erase boards the teacher put together. In High School I recall spending more time agonizing over relational and social challenges than over my significant school load. Today, I spend most of my school life trying to learn how to listen to people whose lives, experiences and choices sometimes feel 100 miles away from mine. Everyone has their own landscape, and if I can see someone else’s view through their eyes even for one hour a week, then maybe I can help them find the healing for which they’re searching. In the meantime, I’ll reflect on my current view–literally and not so–and try to appreciate it for what it is, knowing that it is possible to put down roots despite how changeable and unpredictable life can be.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 27th, 2006 at 4:56 pm and is filed under From the nation of Indig. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.