When I walk with my daughter, she always looks down, trying to find some money. My explanations that it may take some serious effort as people mainly use cards nowadays and that 1 or 2 cent coins can’t be used anymore go unnoticed. She keeps trying. And yes, sometimes she gets lucky.
Me, I look up, I look at the sky. I can’t tell you why, exactly. Maybe because sometimes the sky is truly beautiful. Or maybe because it’s so mysterious and majestic.
Do you still play that game of looking up at the sky and dreaming up what object clouds look like as they float by? I do it with my girl and we both enjoy it. The simple game brings memories of childhood, at the same time making our bond stronger as we lie side by side, dreaming. It shows that sometimes you need very little, or nothing, to have a great time.
Simplicity.
I read about this girl yesterday. She travels on a bike. She has no home. She sleeps in a tent and all her possessions fit into 2 bags. In her post she tries to explain how she can afford traveling with no job. Her answer is simple – when all you have you can carry with you, it doesn’t cost that much. She has no mortgage, no bills to pay. She buys no heels or fancy dresses. She doesn’t get a mani-pedi or her hair done.
I can relate to that. I don’t particularly like things. I have one pair of sneakers (London boy, how many do you have?), few clothes. No car, no house or apartment.
Do I want a place to call my own? Yes! I imagine my home, which I’ll design however I want, which will be mine forever. A place where my daughter can paint on walls and it won’t be a big deal (really hoping she won’t, though).
But also – no! Having a home means mortgage, it means a commitment to stay in one place. Many years will pass till the mortgage gets paid off and the place is truly mine and mine only.
Do I have issues with commitment? It seems so. I can commit in an instant. If London boy asks me to come to London I will do so without thinking twice about it. I can commit to him. To a person. I don’t want to commit to a place, to things. I can’t. I need to know (just in case) I can leave whenever I want without any major hassle.
And so, I float between the sky and the earth, wanting freedom and wanting home.
