Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Moving?

  Disclaimer:  I don't know what this is.  I opened my head and it fell out.

   I seem to be living in the State of Challenge these days.  It is certainly a big place, full of crowded spaces but also some wide open vistas.  All the roads lead to unfamiliar regions, though sometimes I imagine that I might have been in that territory when I was a kid.   I occasionally go to visit the Ocean of Dreams, though I rarely swim there.  Mostly I just sit on the sand and stare at the breaking waves and wonder where all that power comes from and where exactly does it go.





      The State of Challenge has tons of high places and more than enough cliffs to satisfy any risk taker. I can stand on the edge of Belief and consider if I want to jump off that Belief or maybe just settle in there for awhile.  It is noisy in the State of Challenge  There are too many shouting voices,  most of them coming from a place of Emotion or Indecision.  They can sometimes even get physical and attempt to knock me over.  That's when I retreat to Despair.

     Despair gives me a break.  When I go there, I go by myself.  It is, oddly enough, a comfortable venue.  It is, yes, in a valley and there are big shade trees, some picnic tables, and the only other visitor is Silence.  I usually need to pull up the hood on my sweatshirt.  It just feels better that way.  I find my self there.  I can look me over for awhile until I say, "Enough!" and then I move out of the valley and usually back to the wide open spaces.

    I used to live in the nearby State of Certainty.  That was home for a long time but then I started to feel disconnected there, as if I no longer belonged in that town.   I have learned a lot while living in Challenge but I am thinking about moving again.  I might be ready to live in the Land of Ambiguity now.  It's kind of a mysterious place, true, but that is part of its appeal.  I am hoping to find a home on Surprise St.

    If you were going to move, where would you go?  Tell me what you think.

20 comments:

  1. In my turbulent youth I lived by the Ocean of Dreams, but dreams were often interrupted by nightmares.

    I later traveled through the Land of Uncertainty, endured the foothills of Despair, and finally climbed the incredible Mountain of Chaos. At the summit, I scanned the ocean for islands of Peace and Perfection in vain.

    Lately, I would gladly settle in the State of Tranquility, nestled somewhere in a tiny Valley of Respite.

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    1. I've been to the Mountain of Chaos! Spectacular views there but also very precarious to balance at the summit. The State of Tranquility sounds appealing but maybe a bit boring? Where are you right now?

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  2. I'd love to live in the Land of Knowing What is Going to Happen in the Years Ahead, but sadly I don't think that's an option. I've been in some of those lands you described; you described them quite well I do believe. I think right now I'm living in the Land of Patient Waiting (or at least trying to)

    betty

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    1. Life certainly does take us to some interesting places. It doesn't even matter if we want to go there or not...

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  3. I love the metaphorical nature of this piece. Quite unique and beautiful. I do agree that ambiguity does hold a certain appeal...there is beauty in the unknown. Wonderful post :)

    ~Keith

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    1. Thank you! It is one of those things that just fell on to the paper!

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  4. I love this metaphor! And I find the question hard to answer. Would I choose the Land of Ambiguity if I felt I had a choice, or is that just where I keep waking up? I think maybe there's some other distinction I'm missing: within that Land of Ambiguity, am I still scaling unscalable walls trying to see over the other side, slogging against rivers that flow against my walk? I think there may be another way to live here, when I give up trying to make Ambiguity into a kind of theme park within Certainty.

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    1. Is there such a place as Certainty at all? I think I've decided that Certainty was just in my imagination. I only wanted to live there but it was just a movie or something.

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  5. I think I am currently in the Sea of Unrest, which I imagine (hope) is located in the midst of the State of Certainty.. It's right there! Just gotta swim a little further! Might benefit from a visit to the Valley of Respite for a bit :)

    Fun metaphor!

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    1. I know the feeling! Sometimes I vacation on the Isle of Denial....

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  6. Every time I seem to get near any particular town or other, I find myself back on the road of A Little Peckishness, and I seek out pizza. It does keep me out of Despair, and away from Religion.

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    1. Ah, yes, pizza cures all. As a kid , I lived in Religion. I got ran out of town on a rail. They never want me back there again.

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  7. I currently reside in the state of Depression far too often. I would like to live in the state of Annie, always, but must settle for the state of Visitation Only, far too often to suit me. Good luck with that Ambiguity business...not all homes on Surprise Street work out the way we might want.

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    1. Oh, I know that Surprise St can be blood alley but at least you get to see interesting scenery.

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  9. I don't think I've ever lived in the State of Certainty, but I'd like to, at least for a time. I think the change of scenery would be good. Maybe someday, right?

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  10. This just fell out huh? I just love the way you think, so deep and filled with creative thought.

    I'm happy to try to swim in the sea of dreams since for me The state of challenge is getting rather old. Not an easy swim for this realist :)

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