My head is still spinning from the weekend. Hard to capsulize it; I'm going to need to simmer a while and see what it leads me to. Didn't do any art for AEM when I was gone - unless you call paying attention to my life art (...and I kinda do).
I was thinking quite a bit about Sydney while I was driving home, cause like the retreat, living there spun my head about what might be possible in my life.
I moved to Sydney in the winter of 1993.
I left NJ on a snowy day, and arrived about 24 hours later to a warm, clear blue sky day in Sydney. I slept off my jet-lag on Bondi (pronounce it bond-eye) - the city beach that was about 10 minutes from our house. I felt at home in Australia right from the start; I arrived during Sydney's famous Gay/Lesbian Marti Gras - and the night of my arrival the main street near my home (that's my neighborhood in paddington in the photo there...) was blocked off for the parade. I figured that any city that rolled back the streets for the gay/lesbian community was my kinda town ... but I digress.
Australia - and my home in Sydney - was an amazing place: great weather, wonderful beaches, vibrant culture, and easy-going people who really made art of their lives; I was in heaven - but one thing that I loved about Sydney was the contrast it provided when compared to my life in the US. It's not that my life sucked in the states - it was actually pretty good, but I was so "in it" that I couldn't really get perspective about it.
In "A Moveable Feast" Hemingway says that "Maybe away from Paris I could write about Paris, as in Paris I could write about Michigan." And that was true for me ... living in Sydney, I could see myself and my life with a new clarity. I could see things that were simply part of my upbringing and the culture that I was raised in that I'd bought into ... I could see how I limited myself by accepting these things as fixed and "true." In my community in Sydney I saw a way of life that was richer, and included far more of a balance between friends, work and play than I'd ever known. I had a love affair with Sydney that I'll never completely get over. It was a completely life changing relationship. (that's 'my beach' - in the photo there...)
In my career retreat we did a lot of looking at my life, the story of my work and the path I've taken - with all its zigs and zags - and in some ways it was like going to Sydney. Cause I got some cool perspectives stepping outside my day-to-day and looking with new eyes. And it's good to be reminded that my life is my canvas.
Now, I'll have to see what I get from over here. (still on the road...)
Happy Thanksgiving, Deb...from one Pink Section Gal to another... ;)
Posted by: Marilyn | November 24, 2005 at 04:37 PM
I have a theory about the places we visit, and sometimes spend time living in, and why some feel more like home than others. I'll share it with you some day, or maybe I'll even write about it in my blog, it's something I've been pondering for a while :)
I've never been to Sydney and it sounds like a fab place; love the photo of your neighbourhood, no wonder you felt at home there. The way you feel about Sydney is how I feel about Vancouver, where I lived for a couple of years in the mid 80s. I go back as often as I can and still have very good friends there. It never ceases to amaze me that as soon as I land at the airport, I feel like I am COMING HOME. Of all the places I have lived and visited, Vancouver is the one where I feel most at home. Considering that I was brought up in Germany and have no family ties to Canada, this has always struck me as strange, but wonderful nonetheless.
You said it so well in your comment the other day: "those of us who chose movement leave pieces of our hearts all around the globe." You can tell, I love this quote!
Movement is good for perspective because it allows us to view our lives from different angles.
I am looking forward to hearing more about the career retreat weekend :)
Take care, Kerstin
Posted by: Kerstin | November 23, 2005 at 08:34 PM
Oh Deb, it sounds like such a wonderful place for you. Funny how 'place' can be so important ... some people don't pay a lot of mind to that, but I really believe certain places feel like home, and some don't, even if we choose to be there for certain reasons :-). Who knows ... maybe your journey will take you there again some day.
Sounds like the retreat provided a lot of food for thought. Looking forward to more of your insights as you choose to share them.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by: maria | November 23, 2005 at 07:28 PM
The brother of my best high school friend has lived in (and around) Sydney for many years. He originally went there (when we were all young) to play (pro) basketball there. He married an Aussie and built a life there. It's funny, I still think of him as being from our hometown...but can't imagine him living anywhere except Australia...
Posted by: Marilyn | November 23, 2005 at 04:43 AM