The End. Words we find on the last page of a book. A sort of verbal punctuation to the story as a whole. A marker to let us loose to move on with the next thing in life—or the next life itself. We often face The End with dread, sometimes with a sigh of relief. … Continue reading The End
Dislocation leads to disorientation. When we find ourselves in a new setting, then we have to rediscover our identity. The old haunts and habits are being replaced. The common familiarities are slipping away. The people we knew are seen less often. Our whole sense of self gets skewed with a shift in location. Our identities … Continue reading Who Am I Now?
I have lived in cardboard lately. Not like those who actually do have a box that shelters them from the weather—I’m not homeless. For that I am grateful, but truth be told, there is a certain sense of homelessness when one moves. What was home for a long time is packed away in cardboard boxes, … Continue reading Cardboard Chaos
I do not say ‘Goodbye’ anymore. Last year in Alaska I learned ‘a hui hou’ from some dear friends from Hawai’i. It means something more along the line of ‘till we meet again,’ but it is definitely not ‘Goodbye.’ This year in Metlakatla I learned that they have a similar expression although it is in … Continue reading Fond Farewells
Character in the Making 