Do you recognize when you are content? Like me, I bet you are often too caught up in the logistics of a life, the balls in the air that must not fall, the speed of juggling always needing to increase. When do any of us have time to take a breath, look around both internally and externally, appreciate what we have, the people and yes, the things?
I know in my experience, the time for introspection tends to arrive when I have departed my real world. Immersed in a new place, its scenery, foods and residents always provoke gratitude, not just for where I am visiting but for where I live.
It was interesting to return to a rental property a year after our first stay there. My husband and I are a bit obsessed with this house, thinking and referring to it often once back home. It struck me at the end of this second trip that I wasn’t quite so frantic about the ferries that pass multiple times from morning until night, or the 3 sea lions that inhabit the surrounding water. It was not a matter of me being jaded but rather that I felt settled and peaceful being there. I know where everything is, how to operate the coffee maker, the exact spot to turn the shower faucet to for the optimum temperature. It is comfortable. When I realized that I was feeling this way, at first I chastised myself for possibly taking this for granted. But then an acorn fell into my lap from a tree high above the deck where I sat. It might as well have had the word written on it: CONTENT.
I love exploring varied places, going on different adventures. However, nothing beats knowing you are exactly where you are supposed to be, whether it is old or new to you.
I hear the barking of my neighbors, splashing and chasing each other between their sushi meals. I can see the large object rounding the corner of the passage carrying passengers and their vehicles. This is not the address on my official ID but it sure feels like home.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindtraveler #travel #theresnoplacelikecontent
