Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Beginning in the Middle

And so as I approach the 49th anniversary of my birth I find myself preparing to drive away from everything I know.  When faced with the question "What do I want to do next?" there was no answer.  At that point, it became clear that I wasn't going to find the answer in a city that has been home for over half my life, because it is simply too comfortable and too full of people who know me.  I need to be away from expectations and entanglements for a while.

A friend sent me a Tennessee Williams quote that is exactly right:
There is a time for departure, even when there's no certain place to go.
Amen.

Because she is particularly gifted at coming up with a turn of phrase, she wrote about her own experiences moving onto the Next Big Thing:
It is a feeling of taking oneself and one's goals and dreams seriously, and bravely giving all of that one's very best try. 
Can I have another amen?

Of course there's more to it than me just leaving.  Or maybe there's not.  There's a lot of backstory, as there always is in someone's life, but the simple truth is that I have decided that the best way to figure out the next chapter of my life is to wander away and spend some months in the 21st century equivalent of solitude:  being in places where you don't know anyone, even if those places have lots of people in them.

Another friend gave me the name for this blog.  "You're going on a walkabout," she said.  "Well, really it's a driveabout."  Exactly.

I'm not leaving for a few weeks yet, but I thought I'd start blogging now largely because I was inspired by my friend's e-mail and quotes.  Between now and then there probably won't be much of interest here because, frankly, wrapping up one's life isn't very interesting to anyone but the person who is doing it.  But sometime in mid-November I will set out and it would be fun if you might travel along with me.  Metaphorically, of course.  Because this is an adventure I am taking alone.

10 comments:

  1. I'm incredibly excited to follow along on your drive about!

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    1. Why are you people blogging and commenting in the middle of the night???? :)

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    2. I think I need to change the clock or something....I posted at 7 a.m., not 4 a.m......

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  2. Godspeed, Karen!

    Enjoy what will surely be an enriching adventure and therapeutic spiritual exercise for your creative and thoughtful soul.

    This video may not quite be a perfect fit for your story ... but it shows an awesomacious Challenger hitting the open road! :)

    :) http://youtu.be/EsSaObejUuo

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  3. Exciting news Karen, hoping you find all that you seek.

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  4. "Before going further, we had better ask what it is that we humans need to know. We need to know many things, of course, and many kinds of things. But let us be merely practical for the time being and say that we need to know who we are, where we are, and what we must do to live. These questions do not refer to discreet categories of knowledge. We are not likely to be able to answer one of them without answering the other two. And all three must be well answered before we can answer well a further practical question that is now pressing urgently upon us: How can we work without doing irreparable damage to the world and its creatures, including ourselves? Or: How can we live without destroying the sources of our life?"

    Wendell Berry in "The Way of Ignorance"

    Best wishes on your journey!

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  5. Thank you all. I appreciate your friendship and support.

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  6. I'm looking forward to following your adventure, and wondering when I can start one of my own.

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  7. I'll be following you with keen interest based on my experience. Be safe, be open and listen to your heart.

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