It’s been awhile since I posted any Practical Wisdom reflections. For those who don’t recall, these are quotes of wisdom, followed by a reflection, followed by prompts for you to respond by creating art, journaling, or simply thinking about. These are intended, over time, to create transformation rather than simply providing a warm, fuzzy, emotional response. My forthcoming book, Practical Wisdom–A Guide to Moving from Inspiration to Transformation, contains dozens of these reflections, categorized by topic. I hope you enjoy this sample.
We are the children of our landscape; it dictates behavior and even thought in the measure to which we are responsive to it.
Lawrence George Durrell
Indian-born and of British descent, Lawrence George Durrell (1912-1990) was a novelist who considered himself cosmopolitan rather than a citizen of any one country.
I haven’t lived in the Midwest for over 25 years, and I am happy with my life and current home. Yet, every spring, I develop a strong bout of homesickness. I miss the strong scent of freshly plowed, fertile soil. I miss the vibrant chartreuse of crops as they pop out of that soil. I miss being able to see the horizon. I miss my friends and activities and work from when I lived there. The bout of homesickness and nostalgia is gripping and lasts from several days to a week.
Once it passes, I am myself again. However, I know that primal love and connection to the place where I grew up affects me in many ways that I have yet to realize. What’s more, my personality internalized Midwestern culture and values, and I am not always aware of that, either.
Others who’ve lived their formative years elsewhere undoubtedly wonder how I can be so sentimental about a bunch of farm land that lacks mountain vistas or sandy ocean beaches. The answer is that, in many ways, I am a child of the land where I was born.
The same is almost certainly true of you, too. Even if you have no desire to return to the region or regions where you spent your childhood, you are still, in some way, affected by that environment.
Questions and Thoughts for Consideration
In what ways are you nostalgic about the place or places you spent your childhood? What images, sounds, and smells are of particular importance to you?
What have friends or co-workers had to say about the places where you lived?
If you have moved frequently throughout your life, how has the process of continually changing your environment affected you?
Environment includes culture. Spent some time thinking and journaling about how the cultures you inhabited affect you now. How do you feel about the depth and strength of that influence?