Lost in the Familiar?
I just finished watching Bill Murray and Charlotte Johansson navigating their way through a larger than life Tokyo in Lost in Translation, and it's gotten me thinking that I've been busy getting lost in the familiar here at home...that is, aside from hopping in a whitewater kayak for the first time and proceeding to get my shins bashed and bruised from too much time in the frigid, shallow water instead of inside the narrow and tippy yet strangely comforting creek boat.
Just like that last sentence, I'm keeping myself as busy as possible trying to discover new things within those that I already know. Living in Asia for a little while certainly served that purpose, in terms of getting to know myself, though it likely opened up as many new chapters as it closed at the same time.
Prior to living overseas, I understood that we in Canada - and British Columbia in particular, I might add - had it pretty good. Our climate, our economy and our government have consistently combined to make this one of the most desireable countries in which to live, and only a cursory glance at a development textbook or Oxfam infomercial would confirm it for you. Having returned home, I still feel that way, (despite our unsettling scandals at the federal level and petty politics at the provincial), but am now more conscious of the importance of keeping it that way as well as the hard work, and sacrifices, that are required in order to do so. We already possess so much of the pie. We have to learn to make the most of what's already here, what we already have.
In my case - at an egocentric level - this has been the motivation behind taking a few more risks in the backcountry; paddling down a river without adequately insulating gear; strapping myself onto a kite to learn yet another sport that I neglected to take advantage of earlier; taking the time to pursue employment opportunities in which I'd be challenging myself as much as I was in Bangladesh and applying what I had the good fortune of being able to learn at university; and doing my best to learn as much as I can about the issues in (both) upcoming elections and about the candidates who claim to possess all those character traits and policy solutions that their competitors apparently lack.
I'm here, for now, and I don't want to miss a beat.
Just like that last sentence, I'm keeping myself as busy as possible trying to discover new things within those that I already know. Living in Asia for a little while certainly served that purpose, in terms of getting to know myself, though it likely opened up as many new chapters as it closed at the same time.
Prior to living overseas, I understood that we in Canada - and British Columbia in particular, I might add - had it pretty good. Our climate, our economy and our government have consistently combined to make this one of the most desireable countries in which to live, and only a cursory glance at a development textbook or Oxfam infomercial would confirm it for you. Having returned home, I still feel that way, (despite our unsettling scandals at the federal level and petty politics at the provincial), but am now more conscious of the importance of keeping it that way as well as the hard work, and sacrifices, that are required in order to do so. We already possess so much of the pie. We have to learn to make the most of what's already here, what we already have.
In my case - at an egocentric level - this has been the motivation behind taking a few more risks in the backcountry; paddling down a river without adequately insulating gear; strapping myself onto a kite to learn yet another sport that I neglected to take advantage of earlier; taking the time to pursue employment opportunities in which I'd be challenging myself as much as I was in Bangladesh and applying what I had the good fortune of being able to learn at university; and doing my best to learn as much as I can about the issues in (both) upcoming elections and about the candidates who claim to possess all those character traits and policy solutions that their competitors apparently lack.
I'm here, for now, and I don't want to miss a beat.
posted by Per at 2:15 a.m.
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